Baton Pass
by soulmaker
Summary: What if Naruto took Zabuza and Haku's sacrifice to heart? What if he decided to take Zabuza's sword and learned to be a better ninja not just for his sake, but for the sake of the fallen ninja's legacy? A functioning Team 7, with undecided parings and no overpowering for the most part.
1. Chapter 1

Naruto stood solemnly before a pair of graves as the rain fell down around him, his mind replaying the events from a week prior. Zabuza and Haku, two powerful foes that were capable of killing without making a sound, were tasked with killing Tazuna, a bridge builder that Team 7 were ordered to protect. At first Naruto could careless about the two enemies, they had insulted and injured both Kakashi and Sasuke, the later of which he believed to be dead from the attack. But once he realized his enemy was the same boy who he'd had a heart to heart with, things changed. Naruto got to see first hand what it meant to lay one's life on the line to protect what something precious to them, and when Gato lay dead, Zabuza lamented his regret at not being able to tell his partner just how he felt before dying from his injuries.

Naruto had fallen into a kind of depression ever since, even when he realized that Sasuke was alive, it wasn't enough to bring back the fallen pair that had taught him so much. 'Why did we have to meet as enemies?' The blonde couldn't help the tear that fell down his cheek, he truly believed that if circumstances were different that they both could have been his allies instead of enemies.

"You'll get sick if you stay out in the rain all day." He hadn't even heard his teacher arrive, the gray haired jounin was standing against a tree his book nowhere in sight.

"I never get sick Kakashi-sensei, you know that."

"True, but you shouldn't chance it anyway. Naruto, I know that you don't want to hear this, but Zabuza and Haku were our enemies. As a ninja there will be times when killing is unavoidable, that's the reality of the path you choose when you put on that headband."

"I know that now sensei, they helped me see that. But they were more than just our enemies, they were human beings with feelings and dreams just like us, and it burns me up that in the end they were used by trash like Gato who planned to betray them when the job was done, to discard them like a blunt kunai."

Kakashi was behind him now, looking at the graves that he helped prepare for his one time foes. He couldn't argue, the way those two had died left him feeling more than a little uncomfortable, but he'd seen this since he was a child fighting in the third ninja war and over time he'd grown to accept that this fate was always a possibility. Truthfully this was the first time he'd ever seen another ninja care about the his enemy in such a way, especially when there was nothing but glory to be gained from the defeat of a notorious foe. 'Then again, Naruto has never been anywhere close to the norm. Well, he is your son sensei, maybe I can help him find a better path.'

"Naruto why don't you take his sword?"

Said blonde turned to give him a look of shock and disgust, his mind flabbergasted at the notion of taking such a trophy. Kakashi seemed to read his mind as he explained himself, "No no, not in that way. You said Zabuza and Haku deserved better, and you're right, so what better way to make sure their legacy is preserved than by you taking the torch so to speak."

Naruto calmed himself and looked at his teacher in confusion, "What do you mean sensei?"

"I mean that if you really want Zabuza and Haku to be remembered, then you should take his sword and the lessons they taught you to heart. Zabuza had no special abilities or complex jutsu, but he was still one of the toughest opponents I'd ever faced, and do you know what?"

Naruto shook his head, "No I don't."

"It's because he worked hard to master not just the basics, but his body and mind. Zabuza wasn't lying when he said he'd massacred an entire graduating class by himself, it was a sign of the times in his village, but it was quite the accomplishment none the less. After that his fame only continued to grow. He even earned a slot on the infamous Seven Swordsmen of The Hidden Mist, a group of master kenjutsu users with his generation as the strongest."

The orange clad ninja was in awe, he knew Zabuza was strong, but he had no idea of the height of his legacy. It was both intimidating and exciting, "I had no idea he was that famous. You really think I can do his legacy justice sensei?"

Kakashi gave him his patented eye smile, "Of course I do. Like I said, Zabuza didn't have a special ability or anything like that, it was just hard work, tactics, and of course teamwork. If you're willing to put in the work, then I believe that you will not only honor his memory, but even surpass him one day."

Eyes widening from the thought of surpassing someone like the demon of the mist, Naruto turned his eyes back to the grave, the rain still falling heavy but it didn't seem so oppressive anymore. He looked to the sword left behind, a rival for the giant of a man who wielded it, and for a moment Naruto could swear that the saw Zabuza in the blades reflection, staring down at him with a challenging smirk not unlike when he'd first encountered the man a month ago.

"Will you help me sensei? I know I'm always asking you for new jutsu but would you be able to teach me the jutsu that he had?"

Kakashi placed a hand on his sunkissed head and ruffled his hair around playfully, "Of course I will, that's my job after all. I might not be a master of kenjutsu nor can I say I've perfected his style of silent killing, but I can get you on the right path."

Naruto wasn't sure if the nod he received from the image was real or just his imagination.

Two weeks later and the bridge was complete. Tazuna and the rest of the village stood with bidding farewell to a partial Team 7. Sasuke had made a full recovery in that time and was anxious to get back to training. Sakura however just wanted to get back home to her beloved bed, "Where is Naruto? That idiot is has been missing since this morning."

Kakashi simple flipped another page in his book, "Mah he's just saying his farewells, he'll be here soon enough."

Sakura crossed her arms and huffed, "Who could he be saying goodbye to? Everyone in the village is just about here."

Sasuke was wondering the same thing, Tazuna and his family was here, and Naruto hadn't really talked to anyone else in the village. But soon his question was answered when the blonde appeared running awkwardly towards the bridge, the sword of their fallen enemy strapped to his back. Needless to say, Sakura was livid.

"NARUTO! You made us wait while you went grave robbing!?"

Before Naruto could stop and explain himself Sakura was already in action, whacking him several times with her fists as he tried in vain to defend himself.

"Ow! Sakura-chan its not like that honest! I'm going to honor them by learning how to use his sword!"

Sakura stopped her assault and looked at Naruto as if he'd grown a second head, 'Leave it to Naruto to think of something so absurd.'

"Naruto-"

"Whatever dobe, but you'd better not slow us down with that thing. I don't want to keep stopping because you're tired."

"Hey shut up bastard! I'll still be to go on longer that you even if I have twice the weight, believe it!"

Sakura watched the two trade insults before sighing to herself. If her teacher and Sasuke were ok with his actions then she wasn't going to harp on him about it, "Whatever. As long as you weren't planning on defiling their graves then I guess its ok."

Naruto gave her a pout, "That's mean Sakura-chan, you can't really think I'd do something like that would you?"

"This coming from the same person who pranked a sweet old lady by covering her in orange paint."

"Hey she had it coming! I swear she was always tossing out dirty water on me on purpose!"

End chapter one.

Meh meh so what do ya think? I always thought Zabuza was badass, and I really felt like Naruto learned a lot from the two of them. I haven't decided on a pairing as of yet, but I have decided that I'm going to make a functioning Team 7 for the most part. Sasuke is still an avenger, Sakura is still devoted to him, and Naruto is still going to hesitate to kill, but they aren't going to be at each others throats the entire time. Also, there will be a few OC's but I'll keep it tasteful.


	2. Chapter 2

Team 7 arrived at the gates of Konoha under the afternoon sun after a swift but uneventful trip from the Land of Waves. The three genin were visibly winded as Kakashi thought it would be a good idea to simulate an emergency pace for their return, but despite having to carry a sword that weighted significantly more than him, Naruto was still in better shape than either Sasuke or Sakura, a testament to his monstrous stamina.

Kakashi looked at his winded Genin and gave them an eye smile, "I know how much you guys want to wash and rest, but we still have to debrief the Hokage on what occurred."

He received two very intense glares from Sasuke and Sakura and only mild annoyance from Naruto, before scratching the back of his head. "Well, how about I take care of it this once? You three have earned a rest, take a week to recover and we'll meet up at training ground 7."

As they all began to depart Naruto quickly called out to his teacher, "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, about what we talked about before.."

Kakashi paused and eyed his blonde student, "Oh you're not too tired from the trip?"

"No way...well I mean I'm kinda tired, but I can still train before resting up, believe it!"

"Hmm, well since you're probably the only one that feels that way, meet me at field 7 in an hour. We'll go over the basics and evaluate just where you stand." With that he disappeared in a swirl of leaves leaving him alone at the front gate with the two guards, both of which were giving his newly acquired sword odd stares.

Before they could ask Naruto began sprinting through the village, taking to the roof so he could avoid the heavy civilian traffic all the way back to his apartment. After a few more minutes he was disabling his homebuilt alarm system and removing the sword from his back to give himself a breather.

His apartment was left unmolested in his absence, either because of his efforts or his leaving the village he did not know, but the only change was the small amount of dust that had gathered here and there. Unpacking what little he took on the trip to wave, Naruto stripped free of his orange jump suit and his undergarments before jumping into the shower to wash away the built up grime.

The hot water did wonders for his aching muscles, the soreness fading with every minute under their care. Forty five minutes later he was clean, revitalized, and dressed a clean uniform before he grabbed the giant sword and making his way to training ground 7.

Naruto arrived to find the area empty, no sign of Kakashi or anyone else for that matter. _'Knowing Kakashi-sensei he's going to be late to this meeting too.'_ Stabbing the sword into the ground, Naruto sat before it as he tried to remember everything about the way Zabuza had fought.

 _'He was really strong and fast, almost faster that Kakashi-sensei when it came down to it. But he was also quiet, he appeared in the middle of our formation without a sound, and you could barely hear him swing the blade. I'm nowhere near that level of speed or power, but maybe I can work on making myself quieter.'_

Gathering his chakra, Naruto crossed his fingers in the ram seal and produced ten shadow eleven shadow clones. The clones popped into existence, and immediately 9 of them ventured into the forest surrounding the area while the original hung back with one of his clones. "Alright, if Kakashi comes before I'm done then make sure to call out to me."

"Right Boss!" With that Naruto followed his clones into the forest, leaving the one clone to idly watch the clouds.

About a half hour later Kakashi appeared in the training ground right in front of Naruto, startling the blonde from his gazing,"Yo."

Naruto scrambled to his feet before pointing accusingly at his teacher, "You're late Kakashi-sensei!"

"Mah mah, i would have been here on time, but I had to water my plants after a month of neglect."

"LIA...um, wait, really?"

"Of course, of course. Now why don't we get started with your training. First-"

"Ah wait a minute sensei I've got to go get the boss."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the statement, "Boss? So you're a shadow clone?"

"Yea, hold on I'll just-" Before he could finish Kakashi bopped the clone hard on the top of the head and made it disperse. A few moments later the original Naruto appeared, rubbing his head with a scowl on his face.

"Hey Kakashi sensei wait you'd do that for?"

"Well it seemed like the fastest way to get your attention."

"But if you'd have waited the clone would have..." His words came to a halt as his brain went began to process what just happened. 'The clone didn't come get me, but I knew Kakashi was here because he popped it. But then that means I know what the clones know when they are popped...right?'

Kakashi could help but shake his head in slight disappointment at the surprised look on his students face, "Naruto you've been using those clones for about three months and you're just now realizing how they work?"

Naruto sheepishly scratched his head, "Well I've never really used them for messaging or anything before. And whenever I used them in a fight I always saw them get destroyed so I never noticed. Does this mean if I use them to do a bunch of exercises that I'll get stronger?"

"Well no they don't really work like that. Allow me to explain. The reason shadow clones are a forbidden jutsu is because of two things. One the they take a lot of chakra to use, as they split your chakra in half with each clone made so the possibility of dying from chakra exhaustion is very high. The second reason is that these clones are able to pass on everything they've learned to the original making them very useful for scouting, however that carries the risk of mentally taxing a person into insanity or death with information overload. I'm surprised you didn't pick any of that up when you learned the jutsu."

"Hehe I didn't really have a lot of time to read through the scroll at the time. I just saw that it was a clone jutsu and since I couldn't do the regular clone back in the academy I figured shadow clones would be a good enough substitute to pass."

Kakashi just shook his head, "Well it's for the best I suppose. So what were you doing with your clones in the forest?"

"I was using them for ninja hide and seek."

"Ninja hide and seek?"

"Yea! I remembered how silent Zabuza moved and wanted to practice doing the same, so I made some clones and had them hide in the forest while I tried to hunt them down and destroy them without them noticing. I only managed to get three of them, the others kept hearing me and running."

"Yea! I remembered how silent Zabuza moved and wanted to practice doing the same, so I made some clones and had them hide in the forest while I tried to hunt them down and destroy them without them noticing. I only managed to get three of them, the others kept hearing me and running."ut here. That way you can gain some experience with being hunted and with hunting a target."

Naruto quickly complied, and watched as his clones ran into the thicket before turning back to his sensei, "So what are we going to do for training Kakashi sensei? Am I going to learn kenjutsu, or maybe you're going to teach me how to use the hidden mist jutsu?!"

Kakashi chuckled, "Actually before we do anything with kenjutsu or ninjutsu we have to talk about your strengths and weaknesses."

Naruto deflated at the news, "What do you mean sensei?"

"Well to be honest you're a lot different from Zabuza, both in terms of power and height. Zabuza could swing his sword around no problem, and because of that his kenjutsu was fast and strong. Not only that but his taijutsu was more focused around his legs, enabling him to kick people out of range so he could use his sword more effectively. You however, are barely able to lift his sword, and you aren't really tall enough for your kicks to be that effective at making room."

With each weakness listed grew discouraged, the differences between them looking much to high to overcome. But his resolve did not crumble as he gritted his teeth in determination, "I can't help how tall I am, but I won't let that stop me from carrying on their legacy! If I can't use his sword now, then I'll just keep getting strong until I can, believe it!"

Kakashi gave smiled beneath his mask before continuing on, "My thoughts exactly. So instead of focusing on your kicks, I'll instead teach you a style that promotes, speed, power, and flexibility. That way you can get strong enough to wield such a sword while also giving you the tools to make room for kenjutsu or if space is limited, give you an alternate means of defending yourself."

The gray haired jounin removed a storage scroll before dumping out several weights and a vest with strange writing on them "Now, put these on each limb and let's get started."

For the rest of the week Naruto was drilled into the ground by Kakashi. The vest and weights added a total of a hundred pounds to his body, about the same weight as the Decapitation Blade, and with it he went through several grueling exercises to build muscles and further increase his stamina. Kakashi also sewed up the holes in his basic katas with him using three shadow clones, telling the blonde that it would not do to build on a faulty foundation.

By Monday the result was a drastic increase in proficiency with the academy style taijutsu, and a greater amount of body control with silencing his footsteps.

Kakashi watched as Naruto continued to improve under his tutelage and he couldn't help the small amount of pride that welled up inside him. After failing more than five teams from the academy, he never thought that teaching would be especially rewarding, but now he knew he was mistaken _. 'I've been slacking too in my instructing. I'll have to make it up to all of them so that they can grow into the ninja I know they can be.'_

But even Kakashi had his limits. He was a genius, a jack of all trades and master of them all, but teaching did not come easy for him. Probably never would. Naruto was an easy fix, fill the holes and teach him a few jutsu and his work ethic would carry the day. The kid had imagination, unlike his other two wards. Sasuke was obsessed with revenge, he just wanted more powerful jutsu and didn't really think about fleshing things out, while Sakura didn't seem to care about anything other than impressing Sasuke.

 _'Sasuke won't be satisfied until someone puts him in his place, but it has to be someone else, someone without the sharingan. I might not be able to break Sakura's obsession, but I can use it to motivate her. I think its time I swallowed my pride.'_

Asuma was enjoying a cigarette as he played against his student in a game of shogi when another person arrived in the training grounds, "What brings you here Kakashi?"

Kurenai watched as Hinata and Shino sparred while Kiba along with Akamaru worked on their family jutsu, when Kakashi appeared, "Hatake? Why are you here?"

"Ah my hip Rival! Have you come to show my team the power of your youth!?"

Now the majority of Team Seven was sitting in the training ground waiting for their teacher to arrive. Naruto was sitting against his sword looking at the clouds, while Sasuke was simply starting out into the distance as Sakura bombarded him with stories of her week off which he pointedly ignored.

Just when it seemed like he couldn't take it anymore, the raven haired boy caught movement on the field as three girls made their way towards them.

"Sasuke-kun!"

While he remained completely stoic on the outside, inside he was cringing as he realized that his fan-girl trouble just doubled.

"Hnn."

Ino ran over and latched herself onto Sasuke much to his horror and Sakura's annoyance, while the other two girls just stopped over by Naruto as they watched in equal parts embarrassment and fascination.

"Let him go Ino-Pig, Sasuke doesn't want to be held by a fatty like you!"

"Shut up Billboard brow, Sasuke likes to be held by a real woman, isn't that right Sasuke-kun?

"Hnnn."

Naruto just looked at them and shook his head before turning back to the other two girls, one of which he knew from school. Hinata Hyuga wasn't like most girls. She was quiet and soft-spoken for one, and while most of the other girls in class pined after Sasuke, it was not the same for her. She was also one of the few people who actually treated Naruto like a person.

The other girl wore a pink shirt with green pants and had brown hair kept in two buns on either side of her head. The look on her face as she watched the other three genin made it clear that she wasn't impressed with them, "Jeez, I thought the next class would be a little more mature by now."

Naruto gave a sheepish chuckle, "Yea, usually they aren't so bad, but when Sasuke's around then all bets are off. I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way, what's your name?"

"Sorry, I'm TenTen from Team Gai."

"Oh? What are you girls doing here?"

"No clue. My teacher just told me to come here for training, I met up with Ino and Hinata on the way here."

The shy girl just pushed her fingers together and blushed, "H-hello Naruto-kun."

"Hey Hinata-chan! It's been a while since I've seen you, I'll bet you've gotten really stronger since then!"

She only smiled and looked away as he blush intensified. Tenten just rolled her eyes at the display before turning her attention to the sword that towered at an angle behind the blonde. Her eyes widened as she took another step forward and inspected the blade.

"No way...this...this is the kubikiribocho!"

Naruto frowned, he'd never heard it called that before, "Kubi what? Is that what Zabuza's sword is called?"

Tenten whirled around and grabbed him by his shirt pulling him close as she stared into his eyes with a fever, "This is his sword!? Why do you have one of the legendary swords from the hidden mist!?"

Naruto swallowed hard, this girl was starting to freak him out, "Um-well I'm learning to use it to honor his legacy."

She went back to inspecting the sword, pulling it out of the ground with great effort as she looked it over with stars in her eyes, "Is it true? Does this sword really have that kind of ability?!"

Now it was his turn to look confused, "Ability? I thought it was just a massive sword with no real hidden secrets?"

"Oh no no no! All Seven of the legendary blades have an ability! The Kubikiribocho is said to never dull, and is the hardest of the swords to break. But even if somehow it manages to become fractured, it repairs itself with the iron from the blood of its victims. Compared to the other swords it might not seem that amazing, but it says a lot for its wielder that they can fight on even ground with them"

Naruto listened with rapt attention, glad to know the name of his new blade, and to know that Zabuza really wasn't hiding some super special ability that made him great. Walking over to the blade he hoisted it up and placed it back into the ground as Tenten marveled at it.

"One day you're going to have to tell me the story of how you got that blade. You'd better do everything in your power to honor it, otherwise I'll defeat you and claim it for myself."

He could see the sincerity in her eyes, and he hoped his own shone as brightly as he nodded in return.

Just then Kakashi appeared in the middle of the field, earning the attention of all the genin as Ino and Sakura screamed at him, "You're late!"

"Mah I'm sorry, I had to help a elderly man weed his garden."

"Liar!"

Never the less the genin gathered up, Naruto noticing that Hinata placed herself between him and Sasuke, earning the ire of both Sakura and Ino, but she didn't seem to care.

"Well this is a little crowded right? Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, in light of recent events I've arranged for the three of you to receive a month of training from three different teachers. Sakura, you'll be going to training ground 3 to meet up with the rest of Team Gai. He's an expert in taijutsu, and quite frankly it's something I've noticed you're lacking even with your great chakra control.

Sasuke, You'll be going to field 4 to train with Kurenai and Team 8. She specializes in genjutsu, and if you really are aiming for Itachi then you'll have to learn everything you can about one of his favorite forms of attack.

Naruto, you'll be meeting Team 10 lead by Asuma in training ground 1."

"What am I going to be learning from him sensei? Is he a kenjutsu specialist, or maybe he's going to teach me taijtusu?!"

"No no nothing like that, He's actually going to be helping you make your mind sharper so to speak. He's very good with team tactics and planning."

The orange ninja deflated a bit at that, but rather than complain he simply grabbed his sword and prepared to leave, "Ok Kakashi sensei."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he expected a fight from the blonde, "You're not going to challenge me on this?"

Naruto simply shook his head, "No, I understand. It's like you said, I've got to get stronger both in body and mind if I want to reach my goal. Am I still allowed to do my stealth and taijutsu training?"

Kakashi just gave him an eye smile as the rest of the rookies looked at Naruto in shock, they never, ever, thought they'd see the day that Naruto agreed to boring bookwork.

"Of course. You'll meet with your new sensei every morning, Monday through Thursday, then all of you will go back to your teams after lunch to continue whatever your regular teacher has in store for you. Friday will be for missions. Saturday and Sunday will be for rest and recovery. "

Sasuke stood up with anger in his eyes, "Why can't you train me in genjutsu? You have the sharingan, whatever genjutsu I need to learn I'll learn from you."

Kakashi remained aloof, "Oh that reminds me, no Sharingan for the next month."

If not learing under Kakashi made Sasuke mad, this next news made him livid. He was about to open his mouth to let his teacher know just how stupid he thought that plan was but a small spike of killing intent froze the words in his throat.

"Sasuke, you need to understand that while I'm open to suggestions I am still your commander, and if I say no sharingan for a week then you're only response is yes sir. Do you understand?"

It was visible the amount of effort it took for Sasuke to swallow his pride, but after a moment to compose himself the boy responded in a hiss, "Yes sir."

"Good. You might think it cruel, but I'm doing this to help you. The sharingan for all its uses is still just a tool, the same goes to the rest of you. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, family styles, all of it is just tools to make you a better ninja, and while it is ok to specialize in certain fields, neglecting the others will only make you easier to beat in the end." He paused as he scanned the crowd of children to make sure his message sunk in before looking back to Sasuke.

"There were plenty of ninja with fully matured sharingan that still fell to their enemies because they were too proud of their precious eyes. You cannot afford to make the same mistake. Itachi had mastered genjutsu without his sharingan first before he supplemented its power with his bloodline. That's one of the reasons he was able to snare even his clansmen in his illusions. You don't need to just learn genjutsu, you need to understand how they work, how to cast them, and more importantly how to free yourself from their grasp without your bloodline. You might not like it, but before you can worry about surpassing Itachi, you must first focus on walking in his footsteps and mastering what he mastered."

The raven haired boy calmed himself as he realized Kakashi was right. _'First I'll erase his reputation, then I'll surpass him and avenge my clan.'_ Seeing as there was nothing left to say, Sasuke began to make his way towards training field 4.

Naruto and Sakura also departed leaving the three females alone with the cyclops who just gave them his infamous eye smile, "Now, let's get down to business shall we?"

End chapter 2

Well this is...significantly longer than I intended, but I suppose we covered a lot of ground. This is still pre-chunin exam stuff, and while the other jounin might have been a little leery at letting Kakashi train one of their students, the benefits in the long run would outweigh the drawbacks. As for Kakashi's logic in seeking assistance...let's face it, canonically barely trained them, only really bothering twice to show the team something, and once time training Sasuke. If you follow basketball then you know of Michael Jordan. He is a genius of basketball, capable of doing amazing feats, but when it came to coaching...well not so much. I figure, maybe Kakashi is the same. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke found himself surrounded by greenery as he made his way to the meeting place for his training with Kurenai. Though he was not as angry as when Kakashi first told him who he'd be training with, the young avenger still felt that his time was wasted being taught by a jounin who hadn't even made a name for herself yet. Onyx eyes fell on said ninja as she sat on a fallen log, her legs crossed as she waited for his arrival.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he caught sight of the woman, whose long black hair, pale skin, and red eyes gave her the appearance of an Uchiha. Yet upon closer inspection he found that her eyes while the same color, lacked the pinwheel that would have identified her as a sharingan user. As he brought himself to stand before her, the woman rose with a scoff as she looked at the boy none too impressed.

"Should have figured Kakashi would pass along his bad habits to his students. Let me guess, lost on the road to life?"

Sasuke frowned, "He only arrived about ten minutes ago. I didn't know I'd be meeting another teacher today." The boy swore he'd get his sensei back for this, even if he didn't want to be here showing up late was unacceptable, especially for the last Uchiha.

"Hmph right, just don't make a habit of it. Now I'm sure he already told you, but you've been sent to me to learn the ways of genjutsu. Tell me, what have you been taught genjutsu so far?"

Resisting the urge to scoff, Sasuke diligently recalled all the information he had on the subject in a bored monotone, "Genjutsu is one of the three types of jutsu used by ninja alongside ninjutsu and taijutsu. By using your chakra to invade another ninja's mind, you can craft an illusion to fool their five senses using their own chakra against them. Alternatively defending against genjutsu is done by disrupting your chakra flow with the chakra kai technique, or if unable to do that causing a strong enough injury to break your mind from the illusion."

Kurenai nodded, "That's about the gist of it, but when you come to understand the art like I have then you'll realize how crude you make it sound. Lots of people don't know this, but genjutsu requires a trigger to start the illusion. Most of the time this is accomplished by the hand signs, but there are plenty of other ways to snare an opponent."

She was pacing now, her instructor voice in full bloom as she continued to lecture her new student, who seemed partially interested.

"Tell me Sasuke, what do you think a Ninja's biggest liability is?"

The question caught the genin off guard, but he didn't have to think long for his answer, "Our bonds. When we care about others it creates a weakness that can be exploited by our enemies."

Kurenai paused and gave Sasuke a calculating gaze, one that he was determined to return until finally she spoke, "Given what you've been through I can see why you'd think that, but I disagree. You're right in that a ninja's bonds can be used against them, but it is those very relationships that can be used to make us stronger. Still, that's a conversation for another time. No, I believe that a ninja's greatest liability is the subconscious."

Sasuke had to admit he was not expecting that for a answer, "What do you mean?"

"Despite what a lot of people think, the human mind only really cares about one thing, survival. In fact we actually separate our mind into three parts just so we have a better chance at surviving, the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind. I won't bore you with the details, but as it turns out very few things ever escape your notice, it's just that once you subconsciously deem that it isn't a threat to your survival that you stop paying attention to them. For example, did you notice the birds singing to each other?"

Raising a brow, the pre-teen turned his attention to his surroundings and honed in on two birds calling out to one another in the trees. It was only after he realized that the could hear the song that he felt a small tickle in the back of his throat and a feeling of unease. Locking eyes with a now smiling jounin, Sasuke brought his hands together and performed the chakra kai, his flow and breaking the genjutsu. The woman before him vanished, replaced by the feeling of cold steel against his throat as she stood beside him.

"When?"

She smiled, "Since you first locked eyes with me."

Needless to say he was astonished, "I don't understand, I didn't notice anything out of place."

"The best ones are like that. You'll come to understand that anything can be a trigger for genjutsu, from a glance to the targets own breathing. Don't misunderstand me, it took three years to successfully snare my teacher with this method, and many more perfecting it for different situations. Itachi did it in one and after another six months he was able to take it to heights unparalleled before he left the village. I know your goal, but if you even hope to survive a second against him you've got a lot of catching up to do."

Sasuke couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, excited at the prospect of getting stronger, "Teach me, sensei."

Sakura hated her sensei. Every since she arrived at training ground 3 Sakura had her vision assaulted by a pair of monstrosities in skin tight green spandex. Both of them sported bowl cuts with giant eyebrows and had the volume control that rivaled her blonde teammate. To make matters worse, one of them was smitten with her, a notion that made her shiver.

After denying this Rock Lee three times in the last five minutes it seemed even his sensei had enough, "Lee your flames of youth burn brightly, but perhaps her heart is set on another!"

"Yes Gai-sensei! I will run around the village 12 times in hopes of earning her affection, and if I cannot do that then I shall do a hundred one handed push-ups!"

"That's the spirit Lee!"

With his teacher's praise the energetic student sprinted off into the distance to complete his task, much to Sakura's relief.

"You'll have to forgive Lee, his youth is truly in full bloom. Now my hip rival has asked me to embed in you the seed of youth that its taijutsu, but before we do that we must first evaluate your physical state. Come we'll do my personally designed warm up routine!"

Said routine consisted of stretches that were relatively demanding but not impossible, followed by a mile run, twenty push-ups, and other various assortments of physical activity that left Sakura gasping on the ground by the time it was over. Gai looked at her with concern and no small amount of disapproval, "Sakura this is unexpected, this routine is only slightly tougher than what an academy student would be used to."

The pink haired girl propped herself up onto her hands, still clearly worn out though she'd been resting for five minutes, "S-sorry...I...I don't usually...do so much...at once." Her face was flush both from exhaustion, but also from embarrassment. While she was never the fastest or the strongest, Sakura didn't think that her physical condition was this poor, and to be compared to an academy student after coming so far was a blow to her pride.

Gai shook the frown from his face and replaced it with one of his brilliant smiles, "No matter Sakura! Kakashi has entrusted you to me, and together we'll fan the flames of your youth until they burn as brightly as Lee's! But before that we must work on a proper diet, I'll be sending you home with some nutrition bars to be eaten first before every meal, that along with our month of training should see an increase in your stamina, speed, and strength!"

Sakura cheered up at the news, but when he started talking about a diet she grew sheepish, "Um, this diet..won't it make me...thicker?"

The bowl cut jounin adopted a confused expression before realization snapped into place, "Ah you're worried about your physique? Well it's true that this will increase your weight, but since we're burning all those calories it'll just get you up to a healthy weight for your age and height. Truth be told Sakura the reason you're suffering now is because you are malnourished, and by the looks of it you've been that way for a while. I understand that as a woman you want to retain your looks, but you're effectiveness as a ninja shouldn't suffer for it. After all, there are plenty of youthful ninja that are both powerful and beautiful in their own way! Now come, enough rest, it's time to get to work!"

Naruto found himself sitting between Shikimaru and his sensei, Asuma, as they faced off in a very confusing game of Shogi his face turned up in a grimace, "I don't get it, what does this have to do with tactics and planning?"

Shikimaru let out a heavy sigh while Asuma just chuckled, "I told you, this game is easily a representation of not only single battles, but it can also be used for tactical planning for entire armies. Each piece has a role to play and how you utilize them can lead to either a glaring defeat or a flawless victory."

Naruto placed his hands behind his head as he continued to look at the board, "I guess that's true, but this is still super boring! It takes you guys like ten minutes to make a move!"

"Naruto, Asuma-sensei and I have to take our time to think things through. Each of us is looking ahead before we make a move and trying to avoid the traps that we're setting for each other. It we move too fast then things could get troublesome."

And so it went, each of the players taking their time and coming up with different strategies, while Naruto tried not to fall asleep as he watched them play on. After another two hours the game was finished, with Shikimaru defeating the bearded jounin after some impressive play. T

They were getting ready to set the board again when Naruto groaned in dismay, "Hehehe Alright, how about you play Shikimaru? That way you'll get some experience."

Enthused to do something else besides watching, the blonde set the board and tried his hand at the game. In an hour he'd been beaten five times by the pineapple headed genius. The first two games Naruto forgot how pieces moved so he didn't stand a chance, but the next three games he was trounced by superior strategy as he fell into every pitfall.

"Argh how are you so good at this Shikimaru?!"

Asuma gave the blonde a pat on the back, "Don't worry about losing so much. Shikimaru might not look it, but the kids a genius. Its your first day, but in a months time you might actually be able to give him a run for his money. Just remember that you're supposed to be using this time to learn strategy and planning. Think about how you lost and the mistakes you made, and learn from them."

End chapter 3

Admittedly, this one isn't that long. Just training and such, but...well I thought I should show how they start building themselves up. Again, no one is going to be super OP...with the exception of those of them that are in cannon, like Itachi and Obito...or Danzo...or anyone with a sharingan...or Pien...or Kisame...or...you know what, no one from Konoha is going to be super OP on their own.


	4. Chapter 4

A week had passed since Team 7 started their new training regiment and each member found themselves almost overwhelmed by the increase in pace as Kakashi also started them with ninjutsu training.

True to his word Kakashi taught Naruto the hidden mist jutsu, something he picked up with some level of difficulty despite finding out his chakra nature was wind. After five days of shadow clone enhanced training, he'd finally gotten it down though he needed to have a water source nearby to use it. His work with Asuma and Shikimaru however, was painfully dull. In the last week he'd only managed to last twelve moves against the genius no matter what type of strategy he used.

Sasuke, after finding out his element, was given a low level lightning jutsu to learn called discharge. It worked by imbuing a weapon with lightning chakra and increasing the piercing strength of the object as well as discharging the lightning into a small area when released by the user. Now he was working on yet another jutsu that when mastered would send a jolt of lightning through his opponent and disable them on contact.

The only drawback was that he could not use his bloodline to simply copy the jutsu, meaning he had to learn them the old fashioned way. This wasn't nearly as difficult as he thought since he learned discharge in only three days and was almost done mastering the shock palm, but when it came to his genjutsu practice the boy couldn't help but scowl.

Kurenai thought that the best practice for sensing and dispelling genjutsu was best learned in the middle of a fight. So she pitted him against either Shino or Kiba and would randomly cast what she called low level genjutsu onto him, altering his senses until he dispelled them. Normally he'd have no trouble with her students or dispelling genjutsu, together however they proved too much for the Uchiha which left him in a dark mood.

As for Sakura…well she was exhausted. Gai was running breaking her down physically and rebuilding her, a grueling process that left her sore in places that she didn't even realize she had muscles. The pink haired girl could barely stand when she made it to Kakashi, but he showed her littler mercy as he tested her element found that earth was her calling. Needless to say he was happy with such diversity on the team, and so he began giving her low level earth jutsu to work on. The girl's normally perfect control was marred by her physical state, but she managed to learn it in four days none the less.

It was half past one and the three youths were all waiting for Kakashi to arrive so they could begin his course of hell for today. Two Naruto's were sitting under a tree, one reading a history of famous battles, and the other reading a beginners guide to tactics. Sakura was not far away, lightly napping as she was much too drained to fawn over Sasuke, who himself was busy pondering his predicament with Kuerina.

Oddly enough, another Naruto walked out of the forest, looking around for something before scowling, "Man Kakashi sensei still isn't here? Why the heck does he take so long!?"

His voice was enough to wake Sakura from her slumber, and upon seeing that her teacher wasn't there she glared at Naruto with as much annoyance as she could muster, "Naruto keep it down! If you wake me before sensei gets here again I swear I'll make you suffer for it."

"S-sorry Sakura-chan, I'll be quieter." She gave him another glare before resting her eyes again and trying to go back to sleep.

Naruto sighed, "Man, she's even scarier when she's tired. Ah well, guess I'll get another round in, maybe I'll try using the sword this time."

Hearing this peaked Sasuke's interest, "What are you doing Dobe?"

"Training obviously, what's it to you bastard?"

"Hnn, as if any amount of training would make a difference for an idiot like you."

Naruto looked at his rival and gave his signature foxy grin, "Oh yea? I bet you couldn't do it any faster than me."

Sasuke paused at the expression. He'd been around Naruto long enough to know that anytime that grin appeared it was usually followed by a prank of some sort, and though Sasuke knew that the blond wasn't the brightest of people, he was still the most unpredictable ninja in Konoha. Were he anyone else he'd probably back down, but this wasn't anyone else, and he was Sasuke Uchiha, the rookie of the year. No way he was going to run from the dead last's challenge. "Hnn bring it on dobe, I'll ace whatever training you've got."

Ten minutes later and Sasuke was regretting those words. When his teammate told him all he had to do was hunt down and kill ten shadow clones in the woods, he'd thought that it would be easy, especially since they could only take one good hit, but the Uchiha had no idea what he was really in for. The clones were like ghosts, appearing only briefly before vanishing into their surroundings almost completely. Not only that, but they were fast, maneuvering through the forest as if the dozens of trees and countless branches weren't even there. Not only did this make catching them next to impossible, since they made little to no noise and seemed to hear every step he took, the Uchiha couldn't even sneak up on them forcing him to attack them only when they dared attack him first. In the ten minutes that he'd been trying he only managed to pop five.

Sasuke knew that he wasn't supposed to use his sharingan, but he was sorely tempted after another assault form the orange construct. Just as he was about to lose his cool and give he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, "Well this is unexpected. Having trouble Sasuke?" The boy turned and gave his eternally truant teacher a scowl before shrugging off his hand and making his way back to clearing where six grinning blonds waited for him.

"Wasn't so easy was it bastard?"

"Hnn can it dobe. I'd have beaten the rest of those cowards if Sensei hadn't arrived."

"Oh yea?!"

Kakashi split the two boys up with a hand on each of them, "Now now, this isn't the time for a fight. Although I have to say Naruto I'm impressed, it looks like you really have been working on you stealth. Sasuke, you must remember that even though Naruto was the dead last in the academy, his work ethic and ingenuity make him a fine ninja. Now, how about a progress report before we begin? Ah, but first it looks like I need to wake up our other teammate."

While Kakashi went to wake Sakura, Sasuke as Naruto went to pick his sword form the ground with a calculating gaze.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Kakashi sat and listened as his charges explained their progress with both his assignments and the training with the other teachers with seeming indifference on his face, but inward he was scheming. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised at the results, each of you are being trained on what I considered your weakest elements. But don't worry, after a few more weeks I'm sure you'll get it down. Now how about we start on ninjutsu practice? I have a new jutsu for each of you, but first."

The silver haired jounin made a familiar sign and created a shadow clone, "Naruto, you'll go with my clone today. After seeing how much you've improved in both your stealth and taijutsu, I think it's time you learned a new style. Pick up your sword and follow my clone."

Naruto exploded with excitement, "Alright! Finally something besides boring old shogi!" Together with his sword and clone teacher, the two departed for a different section of the training ground.

Sasuke was none too pleased, "Why is the dobe always getting special treatment? You should be training me, not wasting time with the dead last!"

Kakashi simply waved him off, "Mah calm down Sasuke. I'm not giving him special treatment, but rewarding him for his hard work. He was easily the weakest of the genin a few months ago, now he's excelling at all the tasks I've given him and getting up to speed. Still, I'm not ignoring you two."

He turned towards the lone female who was barely keeping herself awake, "Sakura, until I can get you up to speed in taijutsu, we'll have to continue using your great control to augment your abilities, starting with your ninjtusu pool. I suggest you put some thought into what you want to branch out to, medical jutsu and genjutsu are both recommended because of your control, but they aren't by any means the only things available to you."

Stifling a yawn she replied, "Yes sensei."

"And as for you Sasuke," The raven haired teen locked eyes with his teacher, the eager intent to get stronger radiating from his smaller frame, "I can't say that you're incapable in any area, only time and experience stand between you and your goal. We'll continue to bolster both your elemental ninjutsu to give you some diversity, but I also think it's time I taught you my own personal style of fighting. You experienced it firsthand that the Uchiha style isn't very reliable without the sharingan. My style will help you when your eyes fail you, and it even blends with your current style pretty well."

Sasuke couldn't suppress the smirk that came with the new knowledge. The dobe had managed to close the gap between them by a small amount, he would work even harder to open it up again, all the while catching up to his true goal.

0-0-0-0-0

Naruto was overflowing with energy even as he struggled to carry his sword because of his extra weights, "Neh Kakashi Sensei are you going to teach me your own personal style?! Or maybe you've copied some super cool taijutsu from a legendary ninja you faced?!"

Kakashi just laughed at his students antics, "No it's nothing like that. My own style isn't really suited for you, and any copied taijutsu would be flawed unless I witnessed it fully. No I actually was able to call in a few favors to get you access to a family style of sorts."

The blond was about to ask what he meant, but his eyes fell onto a person up ahead. It was a man with spikey brown hair and tanned skin wearing a green short sleeved shirt with brown cargo pants. He was about Kakashi's height but smaller, with a thick brown mustache on his face, but oddly enough the man seemed familiar to Naruto though he couldn't put his finger on it.

As they approached the man spotted them and smiled, "Still late as usual, huh Kakashi?"

The jounin scratched his head, "Well you know how it is."

"Of course. Knowing you it was rescuing a cat from the Inuzuka hounds or something like that."

"Hehehe these things only seem to happen to me."

As the two talked Naruto couldn't stop staring at the stranger. He was positive he'd never seen him before, but both his face and voice felt familiar yet different. 'He's not one of the usual gate guards, and he didn't teach at the academy. Not one of the ninja handing out missions either. Maybe the hokage tower?'

Naruto tried to recall his face but came up empty that is until he heard the man laugh at something Kakashi had said. The blond's brain connected the laugh with a face, and as he looked at the older man it clicked in his head exactly who he reminded him of, "You look just like Konohamaru!"

The man chuckled and grinned at Naruto, "More like he looks like me. I am his old man after all." It was true, with the exception of the mustache and his age, the man was a splitting image of the young Konohamaru that Naruto had befriended. 'Oh man, I always wondered why I never saw his parents, they must have just been away on missions.'

Kakashi cleared his throat and got Naruto's attention, "Naruto this is Yusuke Sabutori, your new taijutsu teacher for the next few months. We're old friends and I had to call in my tab with him in order to get him so don't waste this opportunity."

"Don't give yourself too much credit Kakashi. I could have paid off the tab, but this kid's reputation is what made me interested." He turned to Naruto with a friendly smile, "My son speaks highly of you, and word is you're the one who's been keeping him from being a brat while me and the wife are away. Figured we owed you for that, though I can't say you've earned a lot of points with the missus. Teaching him that sexy jutsu nearly turned her hair gray."

Naruto had the decency to look guilty at that, "Ehehehe sorry about that. That jutsu works on the old man all the time, and weeds out the perverts from hiding."

Yusuke gave him a knowing grin, "Tell me about it, Ebisu has been having a hell of a time taming my son and his friends because of it."

The blonde had to admit, he liked this guy. He wasn't as serious as the other ninja always seemed to be, and he had an appreciation for the finer arts of pranking.

Kakashi coughed, gaining their attention once more, "Right then. Naruto you'll be reporting to Yusuke after lunch except of course on the weekend. You can only have twenty clones out at a time, and dispel them one by one, otherwise you could hurt yourself."

Having delivered his message, the clone simply dispelled with a small poof. Yusuke turned to his new charge, "Alright. I'll be teaching you the Monkey Fist, a style taught by the Monkey clan that we Sabutori hold the contract for. The first thing you have to realize is that our style doesn't focus around stances, it's a freeform style that uses misdirection, speed, power and flexibility to both attack and defend. That being said, there are a few different styles that compose the art."

The older man began stumbling around, his legs often crossing over one another and his balance seemed all over the place, "First, the Drunken Monkey. You give the illusion of being intoxicated and off guard but then," He lashed out with a strong composed strike seemingly out of nowhere, hitting the training post hard before dropping back into a drunken stumble.

"Next is the frightened monkey." In a smooth transition, Yusuke went from stumbling around to hunched over and compressed, looking around in fear before lashing out with lightning fast punches and kicks at the post as if it snuck up on him. He began running around mindlessly before suddenly stiffening up.

"The Iron Monkey." The man moved slowly and deliberately, delivering strong blows that if connected Naruto was sure that they would break bones or worse. Each movement was slowed but the emotionless expression on his new teachers face was of that of a statue not concerned about pain as he hammered away at the wooden post without flinching.

"Standing Monkey." Lashing out with a vicious kick, the jounin began using his arms and leg to assault the post, moving around it in circles and attacking with devastating combinations. Then he stopped his expression turning to one of pure rage as he began to beat the post without seemingly any regard for safety or defense. Finally he grabbed the post and ripped it from the ground as he slammed it over and over again. Once his point was made, he stood up and exhaled to calm himself, "Finally, the angry monkey."

Naruto's jaw was hanging open in awe, never before had he seen such a way of fighting, "That was awesome! I'll be hokage in no time with that fighting style, believe it! So what are you going to teach me first, the iron monkey, or maybe that cool standing monkey with the kicks!?"

Yusuke chuckled again at the genin's excitement, "Relax kid, the Monkey Fist is made up of all five styles so you'll be learning them all in time. I see Kakashi already has you on the weights, but that sword is only going to be in the way until you get the basics down. So make twenty shadow clones and follow my lead, we don't have all day you know."

End Chapter 4

Well, I added an OC, hope you like it. There was a little competition between the duo, but this is only the beginning of their fighting. I'm not forsaking Sakura either, it just seems like a week into training would be too soon for her to be up to speed on her taijutsu, especially since she neglected herself so much. Either way, read and review! Next up is the chunin exam annoncement!


	5. Chapter 5

The third Hokage stood proudly before the group of jounin teachers of the remaining genin squads in the village, one of them being his own son. Removing his pipe the man spoke, "As you know the chunin exams are but two weeks away and it is our turn to host the event. I've called you all here not only to go over the new security details, but to also to accept nominations for the exams."

His eyes trailed over each face as he spoke, noticing for the first time that Kakashi was actually here on time and not sneaking in when he thought no one would notice. The senior jounin nominated their teams, each one of them with at least a year of experience under their belt and quite a few completed missions. Finally only the rookie squads were left to report. Boldly enough it was Kurenai that stepped forward first.

Her voice unwavering she answered the call, "I nominate Team 8 for the chunin exams."

It was an unexpected move, one that showed a large amount of confidence in her team as everyone knew the dangers that the exams were prone to. But she did not falter or look shaken even at the raised eyebrow of the Hokage. Iruka however, was trying to calm himself from worrying.

The chunin was there as an administrator for the exams but he also felt a personal interest in the future of the ninja who until four months ago, were still his students. 'Its ok, Shino and Hinata were both excellent students. Kiba might not have been the brightest when it came to the books, but his taijutsu was good. I'm sure Kurenai was able to round out their weaknesses and drive home their teamwork.'

Next was Asuma, who lazily called out his choice, "I also nominate Team 10 for the chunin exams."

Again the others were surprised, but the former Fire Guardian paid them no mind as he took out a cigarette and put it to his lips. As he reached up to light it, he caught the disapproving glare from a certain red eyed jounin, and decided against it.

Iruka almost spoke out against such a choice, but he held his tounge. 'Shikamaru is lazy. The only reason he didn't finish higher in the class was because he didn't complete a lot of his assignments, but those that he did do were perfect, even when I made he retake it because I thought he was cheating. Maybe Asuma broke him of that along with Ino's boy phase and Choji's hesitance. They are the second Ino-Shika-Cho combo, so it should be ok.'

Standing up, the chunin was about to pass out the applications for the jounin to give to their students, but the lazy drawl of one Hatake Kakashi stopped him short.

"Well, I can't let my cute little genin be the only ones left out among their peers. I nominate Team 7 for the Chunin exams."

The scar faced ninja almost had a stroke before he was finally able to voice his opinion.

0-0-0-0-0

Sakura weaved around the crisp combo delivered by her opponent as she struck out with a side kick to his midsection, forcing him to flip away. She pressed the advantage with a barrage of blows, most of which the green beast was able to avoid, but the last blow he blocked with crossed arms and even then he was sent skidding back a few inches.

Despite the impressive display of power the bowl haired genin was still smiling, "Yosh! Sakura, you've grown strong, but I will not be beaten so easily!"

The pink haired genin was panting lightly, her body covered with small bruises from the spar, "Bring it Lee!" The two clashed again with enthusiasm while Gai watched from the sidelines. This was her last day training under the taijutsu expert, and even though he expected her to shape up considerably, even the mighty beast was surprised by how much she had changed. Gone was the skinny almost sickly girl that couldn't even finish the warm up, replaced by a now significantly healthier and stronger young woman who was taking to his taijutsu style with gusto that almost rivaled his protégé's.

It was a stretch to say that she and Lee were on equal levels of skill in taijutsu, especially since the boy was still fighting with his weights, but Sakura was now capable of sparing with him for about three minutes before Lee bested her. But when she was allowed to use her ninjutsu, Lee often found himself on the losing end of those spars, as kakashi's student had become quite adept at manipulating the ground to her advantage.

Sakura would break Lee's footing by making large spikes appear below him, or slope the area to claim the high ground, but what Gai found himself really laughing at was when Lee made the mistake of taking his eyes of his opponent and found himself neck deep into the dirt with only his head exposed. He remembered when Kakashi pulled that maneuver on him.

As it was Gai's heart swelled with pride for both of his students as Sakura took a punch without complaint for the chance to bury her own fist into Lee's gut.

"Alright my youthful students, that's enough for today!"

The pair stopped just before their next exchange, both covered in sweat from the training as they made their way over to the jounin. "Today is the last of our month sessions together, and I must say you've improved beyond all expectations! You can hold your head high with pride little cherry blossom!"

Sakura smiled at her teacher, "Thanks Gai-sensei, I'm really glad to have worked under you." And she meant it. Despite the oddities of his personality, the bowl cut jounin really knew his way around the human body. Sakura was fit, something that worried her at first because she thought that maybe it meant that she'd be a muscular girl. Instead she found herself feeling more energetic and stronger than ever before, while still keeping her developing curves.

'I'll impress Sasuke-kun with how strong I've become, and then he'll invite me to train with him! One step closer to an actual date CHA!'

0-0-0-0-0-0

The last Uchiha was grinning as he avoided the slug-like blows coming from Shino. It wasn't like the bug user wasn't fast in his own right, but Sasuke's speed had gone up considerably making it that much harder to land a blow on him.

"You've changed Sasuke. How? Because you're movements are cleaner than before and you don't hesitate between offense and defense. But it doesn't matter. Why? Because I'm not alone."

Another Shino appeared behind Sasuke, armed raised to attack him but he simply smirked before lashing out with a kick to send the attacking Shino flying. Turning around fully, completely ignoring the other Shino, Sasuke formed a single seal and disrupted his chakra, "Kai."

As the duplicate of his opponent vanished, the Uchiha found himself defending once again as the original pressed the attack once more, his movements enhanced by chakra to close the gap in speed. The Aburame clan might not be well known for their taijutsu, but they are by no means amateurs and it shows. Were Sasuke just using the Uchiha style he would no doubt be on the losing end of this exchange without his bloodline active, but thanks to his sensei's training he was still one step ahead.

When Kakashi told his student that his own personal art meshed well with the Uchiha style, he under sold it by a huge margin. Not only did it work well, but it filled the holes in a way that Sasuke wouldn't have even imagined. No longer did he feel clumsy and out of place with his counters, nor was he completely at his opponent's mercy in dictating the pace. While the Uchiha style countered their opponents with predicted movements and flawless precision, Kakashi's style interrupted attacks and broke their balance, leaving them open for offensive measures. Something Sasuke was taking full advantage of.

Once again Shino was sent reeling from a blow to the midsection while Sasuke stood waiting. The thick coat and glasses made him almost unreadable, but it was clear to all that the bug user was running out of steam from the rapid rise and fall of his shoulders.

"Right, that's enough for today."

The two boys brought the fight to a close with a nod before walking over to stand before Kurenai. She gazed at both of the boys, gathering her thoughts on their performance before speaking, "You both did well today. Shino, we'll have to work on your taijutsu a little more, don't want you falling behind."

Seeing her student nodding once in understanding she turned her attention to Sasuke, "Sasuke, I have to admit I'm impressed. You managed to break every genjutsu I sent your way seamlessly, and you've really picked up Kakashi's style well. I didn't think you'd be able to do it in a month's time, but your determination no doubt played a part in that. You still have plenty of room for improvement with Genjutsu, but as you are now I doubt there is a genin capable of snaring you for long."

Like Shino, Sasuke gave her a nod but he couldn't hide the smirk that came onto his face.

"Just keep working on your technique and you'll be fine. Alright, that's it for now, both of you are dismissed for lunch."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Naruto was at his wits end. Over the past month he'd read 24 books on tactics and field planning, and at least 2 books on Shogi, yet he still could not beat Shikamaru at this accursed game. Sure the games were getting longer and he wasn't falling for all of his traps, but the end result was still the same. If Asuma hadn't of thought of a different way to train for tactical thinking, Naruto would have chalked the whole month of it up to a loss.

After two weeks of Naruto being trounced by Shikamaru, Asuma suggested they do live exercises to give both the boys some exercise with the added bonus of satisfy the blondes necessity to move around. Using a class of academy students, something that delighted Iruka since it would give his students a chance to experience what a mission might feel like, the two were given teams of eight and an objective. They could formulate the plan but they were not allowed to go into combat. The results were highly surprising.

Despite being terrible at Shogi, Naruto proved to posses a very sound tactical mindset. His teams always deployed unique strategies with traps and feints that pushed the genius to his very limit. In the two weeks they had done the exercise Shikamaru only had a two win lead over Naruto, something that impressed the blond's former teacher.

Yet it meant nothing on the board as once again he was defeated, "Arrgh I give up! I just can't wrap my head around this game!"

Shikamaru favored the pouting blonde with a grin, "This just goes to show that the game isn't for everyone. You did good though, made me work for it like with Asuma-sensei."

"Yea yea, I'll just have to kick your but in other ways, believe it!"

Asuma chuckled at the blondes resolve, "Speaking of other things, how is your training going with my brother?"

Naruto brightened, "I'm doing really good! Yusuke-sensei says I catch on quick, but that might be because of all the shadow clones that I'm using." The monkey fist was very demanding physically, and the results of the training showed on Naruto.

He was slightly taller, but only by a few inches. The baby fat was starting to fade from his physique, replaced by lean muscle that gave him a very toned appearance. He had also gotten faster and stronger, able to swing Zabuza's sword with his new found strength but he lacked the skill to do so effectively. His balance and coordination improved as well, allowing him to move at breakneck speeds through the wooded areas without much worry of falling or slowing much to turn.

Asuma took another drag from his cigarette, "That's good to hear. Monkey fist is notoriously hard to learn, but even without your clones I'm sure you'd pick up on it through sheer determination. Hopefully you've rubbed some of that work ethic off onto Shikamaru."

The lazy genius gave a sigh, "It's troublesome, but he's right. If I fall behind, my mom will really harp on me. "

0-0-0-0-0-0

Team 7 was in a rare mood when they met up. In one months time they had grown more powerful, learned new fields, and gained a new edge on the battlefield. Each of them overcame their training and were better for it. So the confident grins on their face when Kakashi arrived late as usual was not surprising to the scarecrow.

Kakashi could relate to their confidence, after all, he had been a ninja for well over twenty years now, heck he was jounin by the age of twelve so he knew all about overcoming obstacles. In fact he would have been ok with them basking in their achievements were it not for his colleagues. Over the years as his classmates grew to become jounin-sensei there developed a trend. A team would do something great either on a mission or in training, and they would become confident. But once that happened disaster always followed, either the genin would become arrogant and thus fail a mission, or the teamwork would suffer because of infighting.

Overtime it became an unspoken rule among the teachers, if a genin was starting to show confidence it was the jounin's responsibility to give them perspective on their new found strength. It was cruel and often humiliating for the genin, but they all agreed that it was better for them to be humbled by their teacher in a non-lethal environment rather than allow the enemy to do it. Kakashi had lost nearly everyone he'd ever cared about as a child, and it took a long, long time before he allowed himself to feel anything again. Team 7 had grown on him, their quirks and personalities brought him joy, and he would be damed if they died on him because of overconfidence.

He began the meeting by congratulating them on a successful month of growth and development before calling them up one by one to display their newly acquired skills. And then he systematically destroyed them.

Everything they tried failed, genjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu were all rendered ineffective as the man robbed them of their moods and left them panting and bruised on the ground. Naruto lasted the longest because of his freakish stamina, but even he was brought to heel by the powerful jounin. As they lay sprawled out on the ground he told them to meet before the memorial stone in ten minutes, before disappearing from sight and allowing them to vent their frustrations.

Ten minutes later they appeared, sitting against the logs and waiting for their teacher to acknowledge them. When he did turn to face them it was with a look of sobriety, "Tell me team, why did I do that?"

Sasuke glared, he expected it from the Uchiha who valued his pride over almost anything else, but not from Sakura who was also radiating anger. Only Naruto seemed to actually pause and think about what had occurred. He would have to thank Asuma for his work with the boy, as he did not have to wait long.

"You were trying to teach us a lesson. Maybe something about training more?"

Kakashi favored him with an eye smile, "Close, but no. I was trying to teach you that no matter how good you think you are, no matter how powerful you've become, there will always be someone faster, stronger, smarter or better than you. Constantly pushing yourself helps slim the number, but this is the unavoidable truth."

He let that sink in, their faces varied but none of them spoke to refute the words and for good reason. Weather they admitted it or not, all of them had expected the gap between them and their sensei to close just a little. He just demonstrated in spectacular fashion that it had not.

Naruto shook his head before speaking again, "But I don't get it. Are you trying to tell us that you'll always be stronger than us? Or that genin can never beat a jounin?"

"No," All heads turned to Sasuke who was looking at Kakashi with realization on his face, "He was trying to teach us that individually we can be beaten."

Kakashi nearly shit his pants in surprise and it showed on his face, "I don't believe it. Am I actually getting through to you Sasuke?"

The Uchiha just glared, but even he couldn't hide the small redness of his cheeks, "I do listen. You had us train harder in this month than ever before, pushing us to become stronger and more well rounded. But then you took us one by one and beat us down. The only time you ever did that was when we took the bell test. You want to make sure that you drive it home that no matter how strong we get individually, we will always need teamwork to survive."

Sakura and Naruto both looked at their teammate with wide eyes. It made sense of course, break them down before molding them together with the bond of comrades. But hearing the lesson and learning it were two different things.

The silver haired jounin schooled his features, which wasn't a hard thing to do when most of your face is covered, to hide the pride he felt for his team. Just six months ago they couldn't catch a cat without squabbling. Sakura was pathetically weak, Naruto couldn't think his way out of a paper bag, and Sasuke wouldn't be caught dead suggesting teamwork to deal with an enemy. Now they were stronger and maturing, and it was all because of his tutallege.

"Yes that's mostly it. There might come a time when you are forced to work alone, should that happen then yes you need to be strong in order to survive. But I can only pray that it never happens while you're genin. I wanted you guys to get stronger not just for yourselves, but for the team as well. The stronger you are, the stronger Team 7 becomes, but only if you can use those skills in coordination with your teammates. That's why for the next two weeks we're going to focus solely on team training. Allow me to show you just how much more powerful you are when you work together. Now let's get started shall we?"

End Chapter 5

Welp that's the end of Individual training. Next up, Team training, chunin announcement, and some intersting encounters~


	6. Chapter 6

Kakashi watched from branch as his genin engaged in a three way spar. They had limited themselves to just taijutsu to avoid a barrage of clones from Naruto, but that just left them with a more contained chaotic mess.

At first it was Sakura and Naruto against Sasuke, the two had him pinged as a bigger threat and rightfully so because he was able to evade them for a full minute before they landed a clean hit on him. But Naruto was a little too enthusiastic about scoring a hit, and the lapse in attention was rewarded by Sakura burying her fist into the side of his face with impressive force. From there it was a free for all, but it was clear that Naruto and Sasuke still held a lead over her in that category.

He lingered a little longer watching the fight play out, but when Sakura was a little slow on her block and ate a uppercut to the abdomen Kakashi decided that it was time to make himself known. One swirl of leaves later and the three genin were looking at him owlishly with their various actions frozen in place, "Well, that's one way to start the day, but maybe fighting should wait until a little later. After all, don't want to tire yourselves out before a mission."

A few minutes later and the three of them were composed and sitting on the ground, "Now then, I think you should know that in two weeks time the chunin exams will begin. Team Seven has been registered to enter along with the other rookies." Kakashi left out the part of it being voluntary, but figured if any of them expressed a concern he'd pony up the information.

Sasuke smirked, already excited at the prospect of facing strong opponents and a bump in rank. Sakura looked quizzical, no doubt aware at how rare it is for rookies not even a full year out of the academy to be in the chunin exam. And Naruto...Naruto looked confused, "What are the chunin exams?"

Sakura looked scandalous, "Seriously Naruto?! Did you learn anything at the academy?!"

Sasuke shook his head, "Dou ahou."

"Hey, that's not your catch phrase!"

"...Dobe."

"Better, ya bastard."

Kakashi coughed, a grin on his face at the antics of his team, "Naruto the chunin exams are one of the ways the village promotes genin to the rank of chunin. You compete alongside your teammates against other teams in a series of tasks for a chance at this promotion."

Naruto instantly brightened, "Alright! So all we have to do is kick the crap out of everyone else and I'll be one step closer to Hokage!"

The jounin simply smiled, "Something like that."

Sakura ignored the blondes excitement, "Neh Kakashi-sensei, aren't we a little inexperienced to participate in those exams?"

Kakashi lifted his brow as he watched Sasuke give his teammate a murderous glare before speaking, "You're not confident in your abilities?"

Sakura baulked under Sasuke's glare, but was determined to say her piece, "It's just...we barely survived our last mission against Zabuza and Haku. We're been training hard the last month, but is it really enough to warrant an increase in rank?"

Sasuke was unimpressed with her reasoning,"Zabuza was a jounin and we managed to drive him off, and the dobe was enough to hold off Haku."

"Yeah but only after he almost killed you! If Haku was more hardened then you'd be dead Sasuke-kun!"

"I've gotten stronger since that mission, we all have!"

"And Haku wasn't even a jounin! At most he was chunin level, a level of skill that most of the participants will be on."

Sasuke scowled, his voice coming in a harsh whisper, "I have the sharingan, I was able to see and avoid his strikes. If Naruto hadn't been so weak then maybe I wouldn't have had to take the blow for him."

And there it was, what little comradery between Team 7 had built over the past six months wasn't enough completely erase the arrogance of the Uchiha survivor. Sakura looked sheepish, her nerve lost as she stole a glance at Naruto whose face was uncharacteristically blank.

Kakashi mentally sighed, 'Just when I thought we were over the hump.'

"Sasuke-"

"You're right."

Kakashi's mouth slowly closed as he and the rest of team 7 turned to the blonde who was looking at Sasuke with resolve plain in his eyes. The blonde stood and placed his hand onto his sword sticking out of the ground.

"I was weak, and too stupid to see what I should have done back then. Even after the demon brothers, after the first encounter with Zabuza, I still behaved like a kid playing ninja and it could have cost you your life. But they helped me see what it means to really be a ninja, to fight with not just your life on the line, but with the lives of your teammates as well. So that's why," before Kakashi could blink Naruto slid his hand down the edge of the blade, drawing blood which gleamed in the morning sun. "That's why I'm making this promise to all of you. I'll never allow my own weakness to endanger Team 7 ever again, believe it! I'll train harder than ever, so have faith in me, if not as my friend then as my comrade!"

Sasuke started at the blonde with pensive eyes, trying to determine the weight of his words, but before he could speak Sakura was standing beside him, a kunai in hand that she used to slash open her palm, with a slight hiss of pain, "He's right. I don't know about you Sasuke, but neither of us took this as seriously as we should, and it wasn't fair to either you or Kakashi-sensei. So I'll make that promise too, I won't readily become a burden to my teammates ever again! Even if it means extra training for a whole year before I catch up, you can count on me, as your comrade!"

The gears in the Uchiha's head were turning rapidly, never before had he been in a situation like this. Admittedly, they were both getting better at least in taijutsu, their earlier spar showed him that. Working together the two of them managed to score a clean hit, though his sharingan wasn't active. 'Working together...' Teamwork rescued Kakashi from Zabuza, Teamwork helped him activate his bloodline. Would teamwork allow him to slay his brother? Raising to his feet, Sasuke walked over and removed a kunai from his pouch before following suit and slashing open his palm to get the blood flowing.

"I don't have time for friends or pleasantries. Like I said before, my ambition is to avenge my clan by killing Itachi, Nothing else really matters until then. I can't say that we'll be friends or anything else, but we're Team 7, nothing is going to change that. If you're promising to give it everything you've got from this point on, then I'll swear to believe in the both of you in return."

He answered Sakura's gentle smile and Naruto's grin with a smirk of his own, each with their fist extended to meet up in the middle as the blood dripped between their fingers.

"Ahem. Far be it from me to interrupt a team building exercise, but we should really cover those wounds and get back to the matter at hand."

* * *

With their fears put to rest, Team 7 officially registered to enter the chunin exams. Kakashi, true to his word, worked them to exhaustion with several mock missions, spars, and survival exercises, all with the aim to build on what skills they already possessed. Now two weeks had passed and Kakashi had given them the day off to rest and prepare for the start of the exams.

The day found Naruto departing from a long overdue visit to his favorite ramen stand in the world, a smile on his face with a belly full of mouth watering delicacy. The blonde was having a great day, he had survived the hellish training from Kakashi and even managed to polish up the monkey fist style to the point that even Sasuke with his sharingan had trouble defending the blows.

Better yet, his kenjutsu had improved from the continued use. He reached back for the hilt of his sword with a grin, the hilt along with a small portion of the blade separated from the main blade. A few days ago he'd tried to emulate Zabuza's entrance, a feat he only barely managed to pull off with his current strength. However he underestimated just how thick the trees surrounding the village were and instead found the blade stuck deep within the bark. He pulled with all his might and was rewarded when the blade seemingly broke off with a large portion of it still embedded. His wails of panic were enough to draw Kakashi's attention, who upon further inspecting the damage found that this was a function of the blade. With a little chakra applied on the hilt, he could snap the sword back to its full length in no time at all, making it much easier for him to carry around.

Naruto was brought to a halt as a wave of killing intent washed over him. Instantly his hand was moved to the hilt of his sword, as he turned to find the source of the malicious energy.

Standing a few feet away was a dark skinned boy with short black hair and a head band marked from the land of the hidden mist tied around his forehead. He wore a pair of gray cargo pants with various pockets no doubt filled with ninja tools, a black shirt and strapped to his back was a sword significantly shorter than Naruto's. The ninja stared at Naruto with the utmost hatred, something that Naruto had seen far too often. The blond didn't back down though, instead he glared back with courage and determination, "What's your problem?!"

The boy's frown deepened as he bit out a response, "As if you don't know. That sword is the Kubikiribocho is it not? It's owner is Zabuza Momochi, a man known through the land as the Demon of the Hidden Mist. So tell me why it's strapped to your back instead of his?!"

Now it was Naruto's turn to frown as he realized just what was going on, "My team encountered Zabuza on a mission not too long ago, he was hired by a thug name Gato to kill our target. It was a mess but in the end Zabuza was beaten by my sensei and Haku was killed, but it turned out Gato was just using them and planned to betray them all along. Once Zabuza found out he charged the man and his small militia and killed him but died as a result of his injuries from the earlier battle."

"So you took his sword as a trophy?! I'll not have the blade of such an excellent ninja wielded by some snot nosed punk!" The boy reached back towards his blade but was stopped as a girl with purple eyes and brown hair caught his hand midway. Her headband the same as his, "Rozan what do you think you're doing? If you get into a fight before the exams you know it'll get us thrown out, worse it might make things difficult for Mizukage-sama."

Rozan's features softened slightly before he cursed, "Do you realize what he has Kasumi? Do you even care?!"

Naruto watched her purple eyes flicker briefly to his back and then to his own ocean blues before she closed her eyes and slugged Rozan on the arm...hard, "Of course I care you idiot, but you can't jeopardize the entire village for petty revenge, not after coming so far! You do anything that'll cause trouble and I'll personally mutilate you myself, understood!?"

Rubbing his arm and glaring at the ground embarassed, Rozan mumbled his agreement.

"Alright now come on, Sensei and Setsuna are waiting." With one final glance towards Naruto, she turned and departed back into the crowd.

Rozan grumbled under his breath before locking eyes with Naruto once again, "What's you're name thief or are you too ashamed to speak it?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to growl, "Naruto Uzumaki is no thief, believe it!"

For a moment Naruto the other ninja's face from anger to surprise, but it was gone in an instant, "Naruto Uzumaki. My name is Rozan Nagano, and I'll be coming for that blade soon enough, thief."

Before Naruto could respond he was gone, mixed into the crowd like his teammate before him. The blonde was tempted to give chase and resolve the situation, but even he doubted such a thing would end without violence. 'The old man would kill me if he found out I was picking a fight with a foreign ninja, guess I'll just have to keep my eyes and ears open.'

Frowning Naruto continued towards the academy to meet up with Konohamaru and his friends.

* * *

Kakashi let out a giggle as he read his favorite book in a tree near the outskirts of the academy. It was relatively secluded and since he'd give his team the day off with no active missions to pursue, he was taking the time to catch up on his reading. Unfortunately his alone time was invaded by another presence. He acted casually enough, not even batting an eye as he flipped to another page and gave another giggle of delight as he tried to determine just who it was that thought they could sneak up on a experienced jounin in his own town...but then, 'Well I'll be...'

"It's been a long time Jiraiya-sama."

A few branches down sat a white haired man with vibrant red clothes, a scroll on his back, and a headband with small horns complete with the symbol for oil etched into it. He looked to be in his early fifties, but his eyes still danced with the gleam of youthful energy with a smile that would make Gai proud.

"Kakashi, still sharp as ever I see."

The masked man smiled, "Well taking on a team hasn't lost me my edge yet." Then in a more serious tone, "Are you here to check up on your godson?"

Jiraiya's smile faltered just a bit, "Yeah, among other things. Don't worry, I'm not here to steal the brat from you, he's yours to train for the most part even if I do want to teach him a few things."

"I'm sure you'll be impressed with his progress. He's had quite an influence on both of his teammates, and they on him."

"No doubt. You're entering them in the exam along with the others?"

"I don't see a reason not too, they'll benefit from the experience."

Jiraiya sighed, "We'll need to be on our toes. There are things shifting around behind the scenes, and more than that a member of the Uzumaki clan has resurfaced."

That caught Kakashi's attention. His book forgotten he rounded to meet eyes with the sannin, "Uzumaki? They've been in the wind for decades now, hiding from the hunters. Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa have kill on sight orders for anyone from the clan."

"Well you can cross Kiri off the list. They sent a single team lead by Ortega Uzumaki. I'm actually on my way to see sensei about it, thought you'd want the heads-up."

A breeze filled the silence and then, "You think he's legitimate? For an Uzumaki to join one of the villages that brought ruin and death to the clan seems a little far fetched."

"We have to treat him as such. Say what you will about them, but the Uzumaki have vanished from sight. In all my travels I've only come across one, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. He's got the hair, but more than that I cannot say."

Kakashi could only nod, his eye staring into the distance as he digested the information,"If Naruto finds out from another source it'll be difficult to gauge his reaction. It'd be best if either I or Hokage-sama broke the news to him, at least then we can keep him from doing something rash."

Jiraiya agreed, "I'll pass it on. Keep your ear to the ground, I'm sure we'll be in touch."

Kakashi's voice caught him before he made his departure, "Jiraiya."

"Hm?"

"It's good to see you again."

The child-like smile returned to his face, "It's good to be back, my research has been neglected for far too long." And with that he was gone in a swirl of leaves, leaving behind a chuckling Kakashi.

* * *

Blah! That was entierly too long between updates, apologies for that. OC's have been introduced and the news has broken. Tell me what you guys think.


	7. Chapter 7

In a undisclosed part of the Village Hidden in the Leaves sat three of the most powerful men the county, if not the whole elemental nations, had to offer. Sarutobi Hiruzen, known to the current generation as the third hokage, and previous generations as the professor, a shinobi capable of utilizing any ninjutsu regardless of element. To his left sat Danzo Shimura, a close friend and rival of the third, the right side of his body completely covered from the bandages on his head to the heavy kimono and thick sandals. A true master of stealth and subterfuge, Danzo unlike the others, has no place in any bingo book, and only a select few know how strong he truly is.

Across from him was Jiraiya of the sannin, a gifted individual whose level of skill made him a worthy candidate for Hokage even if he was hell bent on staying out from under the hat. Now he managed a spy network that spanned the elemental nations twice over, very few could match his skill with gathering intel, and even fewer could match him on the battlefield.

The third cleared his throat, "What is there to report?"

Danzo and Jiraiya shared a look before the former gave a slow nod prompting Jiraiya to begin,"From Iwa and Kumo there is nothing, all signs indicate that Iwa is still licking their wounds, while Kumo has kept the standard. Kirigakure is still a mystery, but their participation in these exams suggest that their civil war is over, but if Yagura remains the Mizukage is unclear, though that's unlikely since they have an Uzumaki in the ranks. Suna is mobilizing. My sources are moving for more intel, but it's all need to know for now. However, a new village has been established, the village hidden in the Sound run by Orochimaru."

Hiruzen sighed, his student was still up to no good it seemed,"Danzo?"

The war-hawk gripped his cane with his visible arm, "My sources confirm much of what Jiraiya has said, but my agent has infiltrated Suna and confirm that the KazeKage has met with the OtoKage, Orochimaru, at least three times. Signs point to betrayal from Suna in a combined attack with this Sound village."

The Hokage's frown deepened. He knew Orochimaru and to some extent Rasa. Both were cautious, and would only move if they felt assured of victory, "So we must contest with the Kazekage and Orochimaru. Our number has recovered greatly since the Kyuubi attack, what kind of numbers can we expect?"

Jiraiya smiled, "Sound is a new village, they're mostly genin and chunin level with very few jounin from the bingo books, B-ranks mostly. The only real threat would be Orochimaru's...experiments and the snake bastard himself."

Like wise Danzo looked unconcerned, "Suna is much of the same. Though they carry more experienced ninja, most are older and past their prime. In fact the main reason Suna remains one of the great five is because of their placement in the desert and how hard it would be to wage war there. Combined they have just enough might to challenge us, though we have the Kyuubi and Uchiha incident to thank for that. I would imagine they seek to ambush us and kill a majority of our forces in a surprise attack, but without that element I believe your student speaks true that only the Kazekage and the traitor are of particular concern."

"Then we will move ahead to give ourselves the advantage, we will begin to recall our jounin from the field, taking only the most necessary amount of missions to keep up appearances. The chunin exams have always been notoriously rough, it is bad timing on their part that training ground 44 to cut the number of participants even further to our advantage given the number of teams from our village entered." He paused, "Well have to get our forces ready and on alert, but that won't be difficult, I'll pass this information on to Shikaku. I trust you'll maneuver Root into place?"

"Sound will be much easier to infiltrate than Suna, their forces are gathered from criminals, most of which can be easily killed and replaced with one of ours. Sabutori, I hope you can appreciate that this attack is only possible because of your soft-handed treatment with the other countries. Had it been Kumo or Iwa who joined in then we would be hard pressed to survive this mess."

The sannin moved to defend his teacher, but the Hokage stayed him off with a motion before turning to speak with his friend and rival, "You might be right, but betrayal, though the quality of a ninja, is still frowned upon. We've done nothing to cross Suna and now they seek to attack us, we will show the world how we deal with such actions with unrelenting force, and remind the other nations just why they should not associate weakness with mercy."

Danzo only gave a grunt in response, but even he could not hide the twinge from the corner of his mouth from his old friend.

Jiraiya cleared his throat, "There is one more thing, Ortega Uzumaki. I wish I could say his coming here was just coincidence, but given the open alliance that once stood between Uzumaki and the Leaf I would doubt that. There are only two reasons he is here, family or politics."

The hokage lit his pipe and took a few puffs,"Only Kushina remained in the village when Whirlpool was attacked, and none have returned since. The only family would be Naruto, and given his escapades in the land of Waves against Zabuza it is highly possible that he heard about the boy and is seeking him out. On the political side...Kirigakure was hesitantly neutral in the past and with the eruption of their civil war no doubt they have been left weakened. What better way to boost standing with the leaf than with a member of one of their greatest allies? Has he showed any attempt of locating Naruto?"

Danzo field the question, "One of my agents witnessed an encounter between one of the genin from Kiri and Uzumaki. The boy carries Zabuza's sword, it was bound to attract their attention. They exchanged names, so no doubt this Ortega knows of his existence."

"I suggest we get ahead of this sensei. Perhaps allow Kakashi to inform him, or maybe even take the time to tell him yourself since he is close with you. The boy will no doubt seek out Ortega should he catch wind of him, especially since he grew up an orphan."

Danzo's expression soured but he said nothing. The third continued to puff on his pipe, "Very well. If that's all, then I think I'll go talk with young Naruto and Kakashi about this before getting everything else underway."

* * *

Sasuke sat before his family home as the sun waned in the distant sky, eyes on the door which had gathered a fine layer of dust and debris. Very seldom did he visit the Uchiha compound, the images of the genjutsu burned into his mind by his traitor of a brother made him weary, and it hurt not to hear the voices of his cousins all around. Such a lively place brought to silence by one man, in one night.

Now the last Uchiha only visited to bring himself focus, to remember what was taken from him and rekindle the flame of vengeance that burned in his heart, 'Mother, Father, the chunin exams start tomorrow, and with it a chance to bring glory and honor to the clan. My team is ready, I am ready, and once it's over I'll have taken another step closer towards bring Itachi to justice. I've studied the archives, learned all I could and I promise that nothing will stand in my way of fulfilling my goal and avenging you all. It is for this purpose that I dedicate my life and energy.'

He was an avenger, everything else fell to the wayside including his own childhood and friendship with others. It was a path he would eagerly walk alone. And yet he wasn't alone, Team 7 stood beside him, supporting him and making him stronger.

Sasuke's thoughts turned to Sakura, an annoying fan who didn't take the Academy or the path of a ninja seriously. Sure she was booksmart, but Sasuke would bet that it was only an attempt to grab his attention, a cheap disguise to hide her pleas of courtship. But she changed recently. She was still the fangirl, still trying to gain his favor, but she was also strong and determined not to be a burden to him. Her taijutsu and ninjutsu improved greatly, though it wasn't much of a surprise since they were nearly non-existent before. One time he'd even spied on her, making sure that she could not possibly sense him, and found that she was dedicated to her new training routine even without him present, it left an impression to say the least.

And then there was Naruto.

Sasuke couldn't fight the smirk that broke on to his face from the thought of his blonde teammate. The boy was quickly becoming a rival with his newly acquired skills. Back in the academy he'd been a fool, a one sided rivalry that Sasuke gave no thought to, but since Wave things had changed. They'd trained together, fought together, and though he was still the dobe, Sasuke found him being constantly surprised by his tenacity. Like Sakura, Naruto had increased dramatically and while he knew shadow clones helped the process, the Uchiha was impressed by his work ethic and sheer determination. Naruto was untalented, but he'd work a thousand times harder if it meant closing the distance just an inch. Combine that with his unpredictability and what was left could be called a ninja, and to Sasuke, a rival.

'Comrades...'

* * *

Naruto stood across from the Hokage with an uncharacteristically serious expression. He turned to his sensei, who was standing against the wall to his left, the orange book absent as he gazed back at him with a solemn expression. When the blonde heard he as summoned by the Hokage he thought that it was to wish him luck in the exams, or perhaps just to catch up since they had not had the opportunity since his graduation from the academy. Never in a million years did he expect the conversation to be about family, "So, I'm not alone?"

The two adults exchanged a look, neither missing the relieved tone in his voice, "Naruto-kun you were never alone."

Naruto gave a sad smile, "I know Jiji, but it wasn't the same. You did your best, but there were still a lot of lonely days, a lot of sad meals and uncelebrated birthdays. And the villagers...the way they looked at me. Before I found out about the fox, I thought that maybe the Uzumaki had betrayed the village, that I was hated because of my parents. But it isn't true, and there is another Uzumaki here, from my parent's clan. When can I meet him?"

Once again a shared look, but this time it was Kakashi who answered, "Well we could arrange a meet, but the real reason we're telling you this is because there is a chance he might have an ulterior motive for being here. While he is an Uzumaki, he did not come to the leaf even with the treaty we had with Whirlpool but instead found himself in Kirigakure, one of the villages responsible for its destruction. Right now he is a ninja from an unallied country, but surely he knows what the Uzumaki mean to the Leaf."

"But he's family...Even if that might be true, I still want to meet him." The determination in his voice was like steel, and both his superiors knew that when Naruto spoke like that little would stop him or change his mind.

Luckily they had planned for this, "We thought you might feel this way." The Hokage leaned over and pressed a button onto his desk, "Send in our guest, please."

The door opened as Naruto turned, revealing a pair of leaf ninja escorting a red headed man into the office. The man looked to be around Kakashi's age, with dark red hair, and green eyes which held a firm gaze which scanned the room, locking onto Naruto before lifting to the Hokage.

He gave a deep bow before speaking, "Hokage-sama, it is an honor and a pleasure to meet you." His voice was rich and thick with a foreign accent that Naruto had never heard before.

Sabutori gave a warm smile, "The pleasure is mine Uzumaki-san, it has been far too long since I've seen that unique red hair that was once common behind these walls."

The man gave a polite nod, "To be honest Hokage-sama, there is a reason I was sent here, but I'm sure you've already guessed as much."

Kakashi blinked at the frank nature of the man, but Sabutori took it with a smile, "I had a few ideas."

"It is no secret that Kirigakure has been locked in a state of civil war for quite some time, but Yagura's oppression has been removed, and a new Mizukage now holds the reigns of the village. Though they will want to reveal the identity at a later time, it was decided that our presence has been missing from the chunin exams for far too long. They know of my heritage and the alliance that once stood between The land of Whirlpools and The Leaf village, so naturally they decided to send my team, though they are qualified for the exams, naturally."

Naruto tried to keep up with the conversation but too much slacking in the academy left him woefully uninformed. Once again the Hokage spoke, "Is that so? I am glad the bloodshed has ended, and I look forward to meeting the new MizuKage, especially since they saw fit to shelter a former ally. You seem a person who loathes beating around the bush, so if you don't mind, could you explain how you came to serve Kirigakure and the Mizukage? Surely you know of their role in the attack on your clan?"

Ortega grimaced, "Yes I am very much aware. Under normal circumstances Kirigakure would be my enemy, but there is information that I am not at liberty to discuss Hokage-sama. All I can say is that the rebels saved my life and in doing so earned my once their enemy became known to me, I swore that I would join their ranks to unmask him to the world."

The venom in his voice was not easily missed, but soon his featured softened as his eyes once again fell to Naruto, "But I leave that for Mizukage-sama to speak about. I was informed by my student that there was a ninja by the name of Uzumaki Naruto in the Leaf Village, am I correct to assume that this is he?"

Sabutori nodded, "You are correct. This is Naruto Uzumaki, the last remaining in behind our walls."

Naruto tried not to fidget as Ortega gazed at him, his eyes roaming over him looking for what the blonde did not know. After what felt like a decade the older man once again turned his attention to the Hokage as he tapped the left side of his chest, "May I?"

The Kage gave his consent and Ortega snaked a hand into his vest and removed a scroll, "I don't doubt your claim of Uzumaki blood, but you have to understand that many have tried to gain the knowledge of our clan's most powerful seals and jutsu. It was why we were attacked after all. Before our village fell we managed to catalog every branch of our family, both ninja and civilian alike. It was a S-rank secret, one that is never to be shared lightly. A few scrolls were given to the most powerful of ninja when the battle was deemed lost in hopes that once we managed to shake off our attackers and lick our wounds we could find our hidden brethren and rebuild. Obviously, that has proved much more difficult than any of us could have foreseen."

Turning to Naruto he opened the scroll to reveal not names, but smudges of dried blood. But upon closer inspection the boy realized that it was not a smudge but a fingerprint, "This scroll is linked to the master Scroll, hidden away from the world. By supplying it would Blood it will confirm that you are in fact an Uzumaki."

Naruto looked at the scroll, then to his teacher and finally his surrogate grandfather, questions in his eyes. Kakashi gave him a gentle smile through his mask while Sabutori nodded, "It is up to you Naruto-kun. You don't have to, but I dare say you will learn little else than what the village records can provide if you do not."

"Hokage-sama is correct," Blue eyes met green as young Uzumaki stared at old, "Those of us who are old enough to remember our ways guard them viciously. Many of our kind died so that it would not fall into the hands of our enemies, and it is still so today."

The teen hesitated, what if he really wasn't an Uzumaki, what if there had been some mistake? But he quelled those fears with the same grit and determination that he used back in the academy, 'No matter what some stupid scroll decides, I'm Naruto Uzumaki believe it!'

Biting his thumb the way they taught him in school, Naruto waited for the blood to pool before pressing his finger firmly onto the paper. For a moment nothing seemed to happen, the blood simply absorbed into the paper. But then his blood began to glow with chakra, a fact that pleased Ortega who now wore a warm smile, "It is nice to meet you, cousin."

"Oh yeah I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Believe it!" The adults shared a laugh at his antics before he spoke up again with renewed vigor, "So what happens now cousin, are you going to show me super awesome jutsu that my parents knew?!"

Ortega gave a hearty laugh, "Perhaps one day. You are in a delicate situation cousin. Were you just a civilian I would have taken you under my wing and taught you our ways should you wish to learn them," He and the Hokages eyes met with a flash, "but as a ninja for the Leaf Village you have an obligation to remain here."

Naruto's mood dropped at that, "So I won't be able to spend time with you or learn anything about my clan since I'm already a ninja for Konoha?"

"Of course you'll be able to, but just not right at this moment. If all goes well I'm sure we'll be able to work something out. You'll be busy with the chunin exams though, and while I'd like to see family succeed you'll still have to compete against my students so it won't be easy.

Kakashi pushed himself off the wall, "He's right Naruto, those exams are no joke they'll need your full attention if you want to pass. Why don't we let Hokage-sama and Uzumaki-san talk? I'll take you home and you can get a good night of rest before the big day tomorrow. You'll need it."

It would prove to be sound advice.

* * *

Team 7 walked into one of the academy class rooms and was overwhelmed by both a feeling of nostalgia and then intensity of several pairs of eyes turning to look at their competition. Naruto couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face when people seemed to realize just whose sword was strapped to his back.

"So it's true, all of the rookies are in the exams."

Shikamaru's voice caught their attention to the gathering of their classmates who were watching them with smiles. They all walked over to chat with familiar faces.

"The hell is that on your back Naruto!?" Kiba had pushed his way to the blonde and admired the sword strapped to his back, "Didn't think anyone was crazy enough to give something that sharp to the class idiot." On his head Akamaru gave a bark of agreement.

"Better watch it Dog Breath or maybe I'll put you on the receiving end of it."

"Psh as if! You'll need more than some butter knife to take on me and Akamaru!"

The rookies engaged in easy conversation about what the exams would hold, but none of them were foolish enough to drop their guard and it showed when one silver haired genin with glasses approached them, "Hey you rookies should keep it down, not all of us are friendly here."

Sasuke turned his gaze to the newcomer, taking stock of his appearance for signs of weakness and strengths. He looked to be about three or four years older, but the easy smile and soft tone of voice made him appear younger, "And who are you exactly?"

The boy smiled at him, "The names Kabuto, I'm a leaf genin just like you."

Sakura pipped up at that, "Is this your first time taking the exam Kabuto-san?"

At this his smile went a little lopsided, "Actually it's my seventh. Normally it doesn't take so long, but I've just had a string of bad luck."

Shikamaru grimaced, "Seven times? What a drag, it almost make it less of a hassle to pass it this first time." Everyone else nodded in agreement, no way did they want to fail like that.

Kabuto seemed to read the pity in their eyes, "Woah it's not all that bad! By now I know what to expect, and I've been able to gather a ton of information about this year's competition. Go on give me a name and I'll show you their skills with my ninja info cards!"

The rookies exchanged a look before Shikamaru called out "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Hey!"

"Quit crying, it's just a test to see if this information is valid. You know your own track record and so do we for the most part."

Kabuto flipped through his cards before taking one from the deck, "Here we are, Uzumaki Naruto. Has completed Ten D-rank missions and one A-rank mission, although it looks like it was bumped up from a C-rank. Dead last in his year from the academy and a Member of Team 7 with Kakashi Hatake as jounin instructor with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno as his teammates."

Naruto grumbled at the dead last comment on his record but otherwise the information was spot on. Before anyone else could call out Sasuke gave a name, "Gaara Sabaku." The rest of team seven turned to give him a look but he just shook his head, they would talk about it later

"Ok Sabaku Gaara," Kabuto read the card and gave a low whistle, "Well he's no rookie. Completed 12 C-ranks and a B-rank alone, but what really blows my mind is that he's apparently never been injured on a mission. Teammates are his siblings, Kankuro and Temari, with jounin instructor listed as Baki."

They murmured in amazement as they looked for the boy pictured on the card. Oddly enough he was staring at them from across the room. His face betrayed nothing, just indifference and possibly boredom, but there was an unfamiliar light in his eyes that made Naruto's hair stand on end.

Kabuto seemed to think the same, "I think I'll avoid him as much as possible. Ok, anyone else want a turn?"

Once again the group tried to come up with a name, but then Naruto remembered his exchange from yesterday, "Yea I got one, Rozan Nagano."

This time Kabuto shifted through his deck three times before frowning, "I don't have that one. You sure that's the name?"

"Yeah, I just met him yesterday. He's from the Hidden Mist Village."

"Ahhh that explains it. The Hidden Mist have been in a civil war for a while, I haven't seen them in the exams since my very first time, so naturally I don't have any information on them. Sorry bout that."

Naruto furrowed his brow before he spoke again, "Well, do you have anyone else with the name Uzumaki?"

Kabuto's gaze seemed to turn icy for a moment, but then the light shifted as he adjusted his glasses and he searched his deck, "Hmm...no, it doesn't look like it. The Uzumaki clan are supposedly extinct, though I suppose there might be a few hiding out since the war. You hoping to find family I take it?"

The blonde couldn't help but feel a little crestfallen, "Something like that." Shrugging off the prying eyes of his team and friends, Naruto spent a few moments scanning the crowd while everyone else talked with Kabuto, but the sound of running caught his attention, "Hey watch it!"

To be fair Kabuto reacted well, avoiding the punch with ease even though it was from his blind spot, but though no blow landed he was soon on his knees in agony as blood began to leak from his ears.

They gray coated genin with bandages on his face seemed to delight in his pain, "Those who disrespect the sound village will receive no mercy. The rest of you leaf ninja had better remember that."

Kiba had moved to retaliate but before he could a booming voice called out, "Settle down and shut up! The Chunin exam starts now." At the front of the room standing at least six feet tall was a building of a man in a trench coat and a banana on his head.

Somewhere in the room a voice called out in alarm, "Boy he bout to do it!"

End

 _Not much action here i know, but trust me next chapter will have more than enough. As always criticism is welcome_


	8. Chapter 8

Team 7 stood before the gates separating them from a massive forest that appeared to hold nothing but despair for those who entered. They could not help but agree with the nickname Forest of Death given by the proctor, a purple hair kunoichi with bad fashion sense and a great body.

Naruto snorted as he remembered her grand entrance after the first test, 'if you could even call it a test.' Truth be told he was a little underwhelmed, the test would have been way harder if he actually had to answer the questions or try to cheat, but with Hinata beside him things were ridiculously easy. The supposed tenth question was a nice twist, and a lot of teams failed because of it. Team 8 would have failed, Hinata was shakily raising her hand, but Naruto simply took it into his own to keep her from doing so, _'I wonder why she was so hot, maybe a fever?'_

In the end all the rookies had passed, and while Naruto was hoping that Gaara would fail, they too were now in the second round of the chunin exams.

HIs thoughts were interrupted by the ever brooding Sasuke,"Dobe pay attention."

The blonde glanced at his teammate and stuck out his tongue, "I'm always paying attention teme."

"Hnn, then what was I just talking about?"

"….The scroll?"

"Dobe."

"Well you were!"

"Naruto..."

Rubbing the back of his head as Sakura gave him a withering glare, Naruto apologized as Sasuke continued, "Teams are spread out pretty evenly, but we have to be careful. We're rookies, so we automatically have a target on our back as an easy mark. It's both a drawback and an advantage though since people will be less likely to flee from us, no doubt underestimating out abilities."

He paused to make sure both of them were paying attention, "We hit them hard and fast. If what the proctor said is true then we shouldn't linger in the forest too long otherwise we're in danger of the wildlife. We have a five days to get this done, I want us in the tower in three."

Sakura nodded, "I think the first day should be spent finding a water supply and suitable camping area. We can trap it, and use it as a temporary base if we get separated. I wish we knew where teams 8 and 10 were, then we could meet up and tackle this as a group."

"Yea but we won't have to worry about them. Kiba's a jerk, but he's skilled. Between him, Hinata, and Shino there shouldn't be much they can't handle. Same goes for Shikamaru and Choji." Naruto paused to scratch his head, "Still I think we should make it a point to avoid attacking Konoha teams unless there is no other choice. That and the sand team with Gaara. There is something about that guy that makes my skin crawl and I'd rather not find out what it is in the forest."

Sasuke smirked, "Sacred dobe?"

"You wish teme! I'm just doing this so I won't have to save you, believe it!"

Sakura interrupted before they could really get going, "We'll have to always travel together to scout out the area. Kakashi sensei gave us a little training on that, but it will still be rough with so many enemies to look out for."

At this Naruto smirked, "Actually I have an idea about that."

* * *

"This sucks! Why did Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme leave me to make camp?! I should be out there kicking peoples teeth in, not setting up camp and protecting this stupid scroll!"

Naruto grumbled loudly as he went around picking up the various sticks scattered across the ground and placing them in the middle of the clearing. His sword was resting against the tree, seemingly mocking him as he continued to do menial tasks alone.

Above him three masked rain ninja's watched with hungry eyes. The signaled each other silently before they descended to the ground trapping Naruto in the middle of them, "Well maybe we could help with that last part."

The blonde jumped in surprise, letting the sticks fall to the ground before he turned towards the one who spoke. He noticed their numbers and scowled as his sword sat comfortably behind them, "Who the hell are you guys?"

"Doesn't matter, hand over the scroll and maybe well give you a quick death." The three of them laughed menacingly as the blonde gulped and took a step back.

But then he smirked and their confidence faltered, "All we needed to know." Suddenly there was a massive amount of smoke as each stick on the ground poofed to reveal countless blond haired shinobi surrounding the three ninja. The had a moment to look horrified before they were pounced on and clobbered. A few seconds later they were knocked out and tied up before the clones disappeared, and out of the bushes stepped Team 7.

Sasuke looked down at the defeated ninja, "I can't believe the Dobe's plan worked."

"I'm awesome."

"Yea I thought for sure they wouldn't be dumb enough to fall for that."

"It was genius Sakura-chan!"

"Maybe they were the weakest of their village, they barely beat any of the clones. And they're only a fraction of dobe."

"Hello, bad ass over here."

"I think this is one of those times that something is so stupid it just happened to work. Then again he's dressed in orange with an annoying voice, can't help them for thinking him an easy target."

"...That's mean Sakura-chan."

She let out a giggle at his expense as they searched the three downed ninja. After a few moments Sakura found their prize, "Look guys, it's the Earth!" Sure enough in her hand was the Earth Scroll, the opposite of the heaven scroll Sasuke had.

She moved to hand it to Sasuke but he stopped her, "No, one of you should carry it. If the enemy captures me then they'll have both, this way all our eggs won't be in one basket."

Naruto looked as if the Uchiha had grown a second head but Sakura just smiled, "You're right Sasuke-kun. Hmm maybe you should carry it Naruto."

Now the blonde was giving her the same look, "Me, I figured you think I'd lose it or something."

She hit him over the head, "Don't be dumb. I know you're not the smartest but even you wouldn't do something that careless. Besides with your shadow clones you have an instant escape measure. They'd have to chase down the correct one in order to get the scroll."

Naruto took the scroll and gingerly put it in his pouch, "Thanks guys." They shared a small moment of triumph before heading off in the direction of the tower.

* * *

After an hour of travel the sun had dipped below the skyline and Team 7 still had not reached the tower. They weren't traveling at their fastest pace, not wanting to wear themselves out just in case of an enemy attack. Naruto had also sent six clone four of them disguised as his teammates in two different directions, hopefully to keep enemies from noticing them.

Things were going well, and then a intense gust of wind blew through the forest seemingly out of nowhere. Sasuke and Sakura were able to anchor themselves to their respective branches using their chakra. Naruto however was mid jump and so was swept away with a wordless scream.

When the wind died down Sakura turned to look for the blonde, but he was nowhere in sight, "Naruto! Sasuke we have-"

"Eyes front Sakura." His tone left no room for argument and when the pink haired ninja turned back she could understand why. Standing on a tree in front of them was a single grass ninja. She looked to be in her mid-twenties with long black hair. She might not have thought much of her, a genin her age must not be anything special, but the amount of killing intent directed their way was enough to make her shake in fear. She didn't realize when the kunai got into her hand, but she would have to thank Kakashi later.

The woman in front of them smiled, "My, I thought this would be enough to freeze you two stiff. That's good, this will be more fun if you're capable of fighting back." She spoke to them with a hungry look in her eye, and it didn't take Sakura long to realize that it wasn't her that she was talking to.

Apparently Sasuke caught that too, "Who are you, what do you want?"

Her smile widened, "Why to test the power of those wonderful eyes, Sasuke."

In an instant she was all over them. Sasuke struggled to block the incoming blows let alone evade them, each hit felt like solid steel smashing into his guard threatening to break through. The pressue only let up when Sakura entered the fray in a dance of taijutsu to aid him.

It was a futile effort, their opponent was much too fast to be overwhelmed and too strong to bully back. He split his attention evenly before knocking Sakura away with a nasty kick to the midsection and then he focused solely on the Uchiha, a swift combination knocking his stomach into his lungs and smashing him into the tree truck with a loud thud.

Sasuke struggled to breath as he climbed to his feet, fear and rage in his chest as the woman stood laughing, "Is that all you have? Most disappointing, Sasuke."

"I haven't even started to get warmed up yet!" His taunt bought Sakura the time she needed to recover and him the time to finish his jutsu before spitting out six well sized fire balls at the woman. They would need to force her to the ground so Sakura could contribute more, less they die in the trees.

* * *

Naruto panted as the snake disappeared in a plum of smoke, his the small part of his sword covered in purple blood of the creature. The blonde didn't know what to make of it, one moment he was traveling with his team on the way to safety, and the next he was ripped from the air by a intense gust of wind and sent flying deeper into the forest. As he fell from the sky a great snake caught him in his maw and swallowed him hole in one gulp.

He shivered as he remembered the inside of the serpent. Pink, hot, sticky and very smelly. He nearly emptied his stomach when he saw the other two lumps of flesh dressed in clothing, the shining headband with the grass symbol etched into it. He was not the snakes first meal today.

Luckily Naruto had shadow clones and a massive supply of chakra. After spamming enough clones to cause the snake to vomit, he harried away at it with his sword until it vanished much to his surprise, 'Someone had to summon that thing, but is it after us or not?'

"HEEEEEELLLLLPPPPPPPPP!"

The scream ripped apart his thoughts and echoed through the forest, "S-sakura?!" He took off like a man possessed, jumping from tree to tree until he finally arrived in a clearing to see a massive brown bear chasing a red headed girl who screamed wildly.

Naruto stopped, it wasn't Sakura but someone else. Neither had spotted him yet, and it would have been easy to simply turn away, his team needed him after all. Maybe it was that Naruto just couldn't leave a person to die alone. Maybe it was the fact that her head band was the same as those two dead ninja in the snakes stomach, or maybe it was that her hair reminded him of Ortega's. Either way, Naruto jumped into action six clones appearing on either side as they charged the bear and pelted it with kunai, screaming and jeering to gain its attention.

Once the bear was gone, chasing the four clones still alive, Naruto made his way to the girl who had collapsed in a heap. She looked up to him with red eyes, and for a moment he swore she had the sharingan, "You're safe now, though maybe not for long, it'll be pretty pissed when the clones are gone."

She continued to pant before slowly getting to her feet and adjusting her glasses, "Thank you for saving me. I don't know where Koji and Jimineshi are but you'd better get out of here before they arrive, this was supposed to be a trap."

Naruto frowned, "Appreciate that, but...well I don't think your teammates are coming back."

The girl took a step back, "W-what do you mean?" The fear in her voice was palpable and his eyes widened at the implications of his last sentence.

"Oh no no no! I didn't kill them, but they were killed by a giant snake summon. Or they might have been killed, all I saw were lumps of flesh and grass headbands, but it could have been another team right?" He rambled on trying to clear his name and the girl seemed to take it all in.

"A snake summon?" Her eyes seemed to lose their focus for a moment before she began to shiver, "N-no way."

"What's wrong?" He asked, voice laced with concern.

"There's a huge chakra signature not too far from here, two others are fighting it but there's no way they can win against someone with that much chakra. Maybe that person was the same one that summoned the snake. It takes both great control and chakra to summon creatures, the bigger they are the more difficult."

Naruto wasn't really hearing her as she pointed towards the direction he was blown in from, _'That's where Sakura and_ _Sasuke were.'_

"I've got to go, that has to be my team!" He moved to bolt, intent on making the bastard who attacked them pay.

"W-wait!" Her pleading voice stopped Naruto in his tracks as he gave her a questioning look, "Please, take me with you. I can't make it on my own and I don't want to die in here."

Naruto stared his mind going over the possibilities, _'She could be leading me into a trap, or waiting to betray me. But then again maybe not, she would have died if I hadn't come along, right?'_ He didn't have time to debate though, his team needed him.

Pressing his hands into a familiar seal he made a few shadow clones that quickly scooped the girl into its arms while the original spoke, "Alright you'll have to guide me to the fight and then my shadow clones will continue on towards the tower to get you to safety. You'll have to protect yourself if they are dispelled."

The girl flushed, "R-right." And then they were moving, the red head navigating him through the trees towards the growing sound of combat. It didn't take long to find them, Sakura's doton jutsu were transforming the landscape and there were plenty of scorch marks from either lightning or fire jutsu. Naurto spotted both his teammates panting for breath as a large snake, not unlike the one he fought earlier lay bleeding on the branch.

His clones continued to carry the girl well past the battlefield, and for good reason, Naruto wasn't sure this fight was over yet.

* * *

Orochimaru was absolutely giddy with excitement. So far Sasuke was preforming admirably, he was far ahead of any genin even if that paled in comparison to the snake sannin or Itachi, but that was ok. His ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu all received passing marks in his eyes, not that they'd had any effect.

 _'He'll make an excellent body, one that I can conquer any foe with.'_

Currently he was letting the little genin catch their breath while he prepared his jutsu for the curse seal inside his snake. Once it was ready he emerged from the mouth, relishing in the sheer disgust and fear on the faces of his prey before letting the snake return. "You're everything I dreamed of Sasuke, a true representation of the might Uchiha."

Sasuke growled to cover his fear as the man made small talk. Everything they had done, all of it, was useless against the freak of a man. His jutsu were nimbly avoided and his genjutsu broken within a second of being cast. It was like fighting Kakashi only this time if he was a step too slow he would be killed instead of pummeled.

 _'He's toying with us, and there is nothing we can do about it._ ' They had already offered up their scroll, but then the freak had burned his own scroll before attacking them, commenting that he cared nothing about this petty competition.

A small part of him was proud that he and Sakura had lasted this long, the pink haired girl was more than helpful against such a strong opponent even if it was just giving him a small window to escape harm. The young girl was panting with her kunai still in hand, determined to see this through to the bitter end.

Sasuke was about to engage again when he noticed the thickening mist creeping into the area. His sharingan active, he noticed the chakra lacing the shrouds of water and knew that Naruto had arrived. Suddenly there was action as four blondes erupted from the mist, swords uncovered as they swung to cleave the sannin.

Instead it was the clones who were dispelled, Orochimaru chuckling as the smoke filled the air, "A nice attack but not good enough. I'm surprised you're still-" A frown marred his pale face as his vision continued to cloud from the smoke. Using the same great wind jutsu from before he tried to clear his view only for the smoke to remain, and then he felt the tickle of foreign chakra in his system. Snarling he broke the genjutsu, only to find the forest empty of his prey.

"SASUKE!"

Team 7 did not speak to congratulate one another or form a plan. Instead they pour all their effort and attention into reaching the tower and alerting the village. Naruto had already formed four sets of their team, henged and sent two of them running parallel for the tower while they and two other sets scattered in more varied routes to the same destination.

After half an hour of running, they found a opening in the base of a tree and hide inside of it. All of them tense and afraid, the sound of the forest as the backdrop. Naruto had felt his clones die, two teams in quick succession. The bastard was close, he'd picked wrong twice but there luck would not hold out. He sent a small prayer that he didn't kill the girl along with his clones, but considering that he had no memories of them dying he was optimistic that they escaped his notice.

It was not until another hour of silence passed that they dared move. Naruto leaving behind another two sets of clones, a noticeable strain on his already split chakra reserves, before they continued moving towards the tower.

Finally Naruto broke and dared to whisper a question, "Who the hell was that guy?"

End

* * *

Woooooooooah

Well that was fun. First encounter with Orochimaru and *gasp* is that Karin?! Team 7 isn't out of the woods yet, stay tuned and review with criticism and suggestions please!


End file.
